The Sword That Kills
by Fingersnaps
Summary: Tim is hurt and alone...how did he come to be in such dire straits? Read on...
1. Chapter 1

"_There is nothing more dreadful than the habit of doubt. Doubt separates people. It is a poison that disintegrates friendships and breaks up pleasant relations. It is a thorn that irritates and hurts; it is a sword that kills." Buddha_

He was cold, bone aching cold, that much he knew...What else? It was dark, okay cold and dark...there must be more, maybe he should try moving...a fierce burning pain stabbed through his chest, a rasping cry escaped his dry, cracked lips and echoed through the darkness.

Moving seemed like a really bad idea...so what was the option? Could he stay here? Nothing would be easier, he could close his eyes again...sleep was good, wasn't it? People always said you'll feel better after a good night's sleep...only nothing felt good about this night.

He reached out his hand, slowly, carefully. There was pain, but not so much that he couldn't move his arm...what did he feel? Dirt, grass, leaves maybe...he wasn't sure, he looked up and tried to focus, stars...this was wrong, he shouldn't be here, he shouldn't be hurting, there was somewhere he was supposed to be, he was sure of it, he was also sure this wasn't the place, something bad had happened...was still happening...

Deep down in his consciousness he must know what was going on...he tried to think, but everything was clouded, there were faces, people shouting...but he couldn't remember what they said...couldn't remember much of anything, least of all how he ended up hurting so bad...he was tired...it couldn't hurt to sleep some more, when he was sleeping he didn't feel the pain...

Awareness came slowly...something was different, light...the sun had come up...green, there was so much green, trees, lots of trees towering high over him, the leaves forming a canopy that almost obliterated the blue sky...but there was still enough light for him to see...Lifting his head he tried to get some idea of what was causing the pain, if he knew what was wrong maybe he could...he hissed as a fresh spasm sliced through his head...take it slow...he raised his hand, that hurt some, but not too much, his fingers were filthy, the nails torn and bleeding, how? Stop...no use asking questions he couldn't answer, he brought his hand toward his face, seemed to take a long time, his hand was shaking, was he cold? Not right now...so why was he shivering? More questions without answers, he touched his face, exploring gently, another hiss ghosted from his lips as his fingers made contact with what felt like a pretty nasty gash on his temple; there were other tender spots but nothing that made him cry aloud...okay, how about moving his legs...seemed to work for his right leg...his left...

"Aargh!" The scream echoed through the trees, he quickly covered his mouth to stifle the noise. What if they were still out there, whoever they were? He tried to take a deep breath, to bring himself back under control, but his chest hurt so bad...he took a few shallow breaths, counted slowly to ten...He turned his head to the side and was astonished to see tracks on the ground, not footprints, but flattened and torn undergrowth where someone had dragged themselves along the forest floor; he looked again at his hands...not someone...he'd done it, he'd made those marks...He was trying to get away from something, or maybe he was trying to get to something, somewhere, he didn't know...there was a sound, just on the edge of his hearing, was someone coming for him, should he be trying to get away? There it was again...a car, travelling pretty fast, then another...it must mean something, think! A road...if he could get to the road surely someone would help him...

He knew it would hurt...lying still was painful, moving...could he do it; put his body through such agony? There wasn't any real choice, if he stayed here he was a dead man, if he moved he had a chance. First thing he had to do was turn over, couldn't crawl on his back, he breathed as deep as he was able and rolled over. His world exploded into white, searing hot agony that caused him to cry out in renewed anguish, he let his head fall to the ground and his cries were muted by the lush undergrowth and loose foliage on the ground.

He lay still and quiet for a few pain-filled moments, he shivered...cold...the cold could kill him...he had to escape the cold, and to do that he had to move...it was time...Summoning up every bit of strength he could he threw out his arm, dug his nails into the earth and dragged himself along, his progress was tortuously slow, but he stopped only to catch his breath, to tear at the succulent grass and chew on it...the only way he could think of to slake his raging thirst...inch by inch he moved on, minute by minute he felt his meagre reserves fading...he wouldn't rest, couldn't take the chance that if he closed his eyes he'd never open them again.

The traffic noise was getting louder, he was sure of it...he must be getting closer...he became aware of a lack of shadows, the sun was going down, it would be getting dark soon...so many hours to travel how far? He had no idea, fifty yards, five hundred...might as well have been a marathon, he was almost spent and he still couldn't see the road...he was heading in the right direction, of that he was certain, the sounds were louder, but were they loud enough, was he close enough to be seen? He managed to drag himself a few more yards...it was hopeless...whatever he'd been hoping to achieve, futile...the pain had lessened, that was a good thing...leastways he hoped it was...but he was exhausted...his limit had been reached and he simply could not move another inch...rest...for a few minutes he'd rest.

NCIS NCIS

His breath came in short gasps...someone was chasing him, shouting...he had to get away.

"Timothy, steady...you're safe now."

He felt gentle hands on his shoulders, heard the soothing words, it was a voice he thought he knew, but he wasn't sure. Everything was so mixed-up, he opened his eyes, it took a few seconds to focus on his new surroundings, when he did he saw a kind face staring down at him...there was no danger here, he felt sure of that. He settled back on the pillows...pillows, he was in a bed...the man said he was safe...

"Good lad, it is wonderful to have you back; we were so worried about you."

There were people who cared about him, was that true? He reached out a hand and the kind-eyed man held on gently, taking care not to disturb the dressings protecting the damaged fingers. "P...please..." His mouth was so dry, and he was still so tired, but he had to know, the man leaned closer so that he could hear the raspy whisper. "What happened to me?"


	2. Chapter 2

6

**Chapter Two**

**Four Weeks Earlier**

"McGee, I was not expecting you this morning. I thought they were going to keep you in overnight?"

"Morning Ziva; doctor said I was good, so I figured I'd come in, get my report done."

She sat at her desk and cast a surreptitious glance in Tim's direction. He didn't look especially good, the bruise on his temple was even more livid than it had been last evening, and the dark shadows under his eyes bore witness to a night of being woken regularly to check that his concussion was not serious.

There had been a few worrying minutes yesterday when Tim had fallen to the ground striking his head against one of the bar room tables. He'd quickly regained consciousness, but Gibbs insisted he go to the hospital; unsurprisingly they'd kept him in overnight and Ziva had fully expected him to take the day off.

The elevator pinged open and Gibbs and Tony made their way to their desks, both of them registering surprise when they spotted Tim.

"Hey McPugilist, thought you'd be taking a sick day after your exploits yesterday."

Tim shook his head; a sharp pain in his skull reminded him that sudden movements were not a good idea. "I wanted to get my report done; not sure I should be in the field today Boss."

"By the look of you, you shouldn't be at your desk either." Gibbs had been angry yesterday that Tim's inability to hold on to their suspect had led to a no holds barred fist-fight, but they'd got their man, and Tim had paid for his brief moment of distraction with a concussion and a night in hospital.

"I'm good to work Boss, least I can use my computer, not likely to get us in much trouble here."

"Amen to that." Tony was grinning as he took his seat. "The computer's not going to throw a right hook…you're safer here."

"Thanks Tony, good to know you're so concerned about my well-being." Tim was already feeling guilty about letting Petty Officer Aherne slip from his grasp, he was sure he'd seen someone with a gun, it was a fleeting glimpse, but he was certain he'd seen it. For just a second Tim's concentration slipped and Aherne was free, he called out for support telling his crew mates he was being attacked, and from then on the bar descended into chaos. It hadn't taken long for Gibbs and the others to regain control of the situation; Tim didn't know too much about it because after the punch that sent him flying, he didn't remember a thing until the doctor was shining a bright light in his eyes.

"McGee!"

"Sorry Boss, I didn't hear you."

"I said, get down to Ducky. You stay if he says it's okay, if not, you go home." Gibbs was becoming increasingly concerned, he'd spoken to Tim twice before getting any kind of response, maybe he should send him home without Ducky's intervention.

"I'm okay Boss, really."

"This is not a debate Tim, go see Ducky now."

Tim knew better than to argue, so he headed downstairs to Autopsy without another word.

"Did you get any sleep at all last night Timothy?" Ducky had tutted slightly as he checked Tim's blood pressure.

"Some…honestly Ducky, I'm good. So long as we don't get a new case I can be home by seven, and I'll be getting a real early night." Tim blinked as yet another bright light was directed at his eyes.

"New case or not, you will leave here before 6.30, go straight home, eat something and then go to bed. No argument or I will tell Jethro you should leave immediately."

Ducky was looking every bit as immovable as Gibbs, Tim didn't want to go home without completing his report so he gave a brief smile, remembered not to nod his head and hopped down from the metal table. "6.30 prompt Ducky, Scout's honour."

"Very good, I'll tell Jethro you can stay; just remember, any sign of double-vision or a persistent headache, you come and see me right away."

"I will Ducky, thanks for checking me out."

"I would say any time, but I would much rather not see you get hurt."

"I'll try and arrange that."

Tim grinned and walked briskly to the elevator, back to the squad room, to finish his report cataloguing the mistakes he'd made yesterday.

"McGee, would you like a ride home? You look exhausted."

Tim was tired; he'd had to edit his report twice, and for some reason he'd mislaid his phone and had wasted precious minutes hunting it down to the break room. "If you're sure Ziva, I took a cab this morning so I don't have my car."

"I would not have asked had I not been sure. We should hurry before Gibbs changes his mind about finishing early." Ziva had been watching her friend's energy levels diminishing rapidly as the afternoon progressed, she knew Gibbs and Tony had seen it too, and she was not surprised when Gibbs told them to leave at the unprecedented hour of 17.00.

NCIS NCIS

The alarm pulled Tim from his deep, dreamless sleep and he forced himself to sit up immediately, he was pretty sure if he closed his eyes again he'd be out like a light and end up being late for work.

He was feeling a lot better; twelve hours sleep had worked wonders, but he still felt like he could lie-in a little longer, wasn't going to happen though, so Tim set about getting ready. After his screw-up over the Aherne arrest he had lots of work to do regarding his standing in Gibbs' eyes, the last thing he needed was to be late.

"Good of you to join us McGee; lucky for you we didn't get a new case."

"I called Gibbs and told him I had a flat tyre, by the time I'd changed it I needed to shower and…oh, forget it!" Tim hurried to his desk, dropped his back pack on the floor and finally took a look at Tony; he was sitting back in his chair, grinning like the cat that got the cream.

"I was joking Tim, the Boss told us about your tyre…you sure you didn't just sneak another hour in bed?"

Tim flopped into his chair, if Tony was going to be in this mood all day…

"Gear up people, two dead Marines; Tony, get the truck, here's the address."

Tim leapt from his chair and grabbed his back pack, he'd been hoping for a few minutes to catch his breath, no chance now.

"Are you okay for field duty Tim?"

Gibbs had been briefly annoyed when Tim called in earlier; it felt like the flat was an excuse to be late, only he knew deep down Tim wouldn't make excuses. If he really needed to get more sleep Tim would have been honest, even if it meant admitting to weakness, but Gibbs had to be sure he was fully fit for duty.

"Sure Boss."

"Okay, let's move."

NCIS NCIS

The crime scene had been sadly predictable, the two men had let an argument turn into something much worse, harsh words and blows hadn't been enough. They'd gone against every order they'd ever been given and had taken their weapons from the gun-locker and turned the weapons on each other.

Tony put his camera in the case and shook his head sadly. "Like some gunfight out in the Wild West Boss."

"It was no _High Noon_ that's for sure…what a waste. Duck, you ready to take them home?"

"Indeed we are Jethro. Tragic…to survive Afghanistan and come home to this…"

"Maybe Afghanistan had something to do with what happened here." Tim had been speaking with the only witness to the gunfight. "Corporal Hitchens says both Grover and Ramirez have been acting strange ever since they got back…"

Ducky murmured quietly. "PTSD…sadly a very real possibility. Jimmy, let's get them back and we'll be sure to have Abigail do a thorough tox screen."

Gibbs waited until the bodies were safely on their way back to NCIS and turned to his team. "This may look like a no-brainer but we take nothing for granted. I want the scene fully documented, I'll talk to their Commanding Officer, then we meet up and start interviewing the rest of the platoon."

It had taken the rest of the day to pretty much confirm what they had suspected right from the start. Having spent months on the front-line, living daily with the threat from Taliban insurgents and IEDs, Privates Grover and Ramirez had been finding the transition back to US Base life incredibly difficult. Their inability to come to terms with what they had lived through, to deal with the loss of close friends had led to the tragic loss of two more young men who had served their country so valiantly.

The members of the MCRT were back in the squad room, in front of their computers; there was no chatter as they sat chronicling the events that had led to the morning's tragic events. Short of anything untoward coming up in the last few tests that Abby was running the case was closed.

Gibbs had just returned from giving Director Vance his verbal report, the written documents would be filed tomorrow. "Time to call it a day; I can't sign off on the reports until we have Abby's final results, so we'll make an early start in the morning."

"I just need a few minutes Boss, want to finish my report from yesterday." Tim wasn't entirely happy with his report, and they'd been too busy today for Gibbs to ask for it.

"Don't stay too late; I want everyone back at 06.30 tomorrow."

Tim waved to the others as they headed for the elevator, he settled back at his keyboard and worked steadily until he was satisfied that his report into the Aherne arrest was complete and correct. With a brief smile of satisfaction he closed down his computer, he was surprised to see the sky darkening outside, had he really been working so long? His stomach growled a little, definitely time to go home and get something to eat. He picked up his back pack and reached into his desk drawers for his weapon and his keys. The Sig was exactly where it should be, as were his keys to the apartment, but his car keys were gone…Tim checked his pockets, not there, he sat down again and rifled through the various compartments of his back pack…nothing.

They had to be here, he always threw them in the drawer when he got to work, and although he'd been in a hurry this morning he was sure…he pulled the drawer open again, peered inside and gave a silent curse. Maybe he'd put them in one of the other drawers, with increasing irritation he went through every drawer, then his back pack again…if this was DiNozzo's idea of a joke. Tim shook his head, couldn't be Tony, they'd been together all day, no opportunity for him to take the keys, unless…Tim had gone to the break room once and the men's room…no, Tony wouldn't, a few years ago maybe, but not now.

With a deep sigh Tim got up from his desk and went to check the two places aside from the squad room he'd visited during the day, hoping all the while that he hadn't dropped the keys out at the crime scene. No, that couldn't be, they'd have been spotted during the search for evidence. As he checked the washbasins in the men's room Tim caught a glimpse of his face in the mirror. The shadows under his eyes were almost as dark as the bruise on his temple, he looked a wreck; time to call it a day, he'd figure out the keys tomorrow, right now he wanted to go home and get some sleep.

It started to rain as Tim was walking to the Metro station, the heavy drops soaking his lightweight jacket, he looked up to the heavens with a grimace, the perfect end to his miserable day. He quickened his pace as the rain came down heavier, as he waited at the crosswalk Tim felt a slight twisting in his gut, wasn't hunger pangs…something didn't seem right, he quickly turned round, was someone following him? No one in sight, hardly surprising given the terrible weather, he seemed to be the only person stupid enough to be out in the rain. Tim shrugged; he was hungry and tired, and now he was imagining things; the sooner he got home the better, he hunched his shoulders against the driving rain and ran toward the station and the train home.


	3. Chapter 3

7

**Chapter Three**

He'd run all the way from the Metro station, why did it have to happen today of all days? There had been a power failure on the Red Line and his train had been delayed for thirty minutes; minutes that had seemed like an eternity. Tim had been so careful to take an early train and yet he was still going to be late, he didn't bother waiting for the elevator but took the stairs two at a time.

Breathless and anxious he burst through the door to the squad room, one glance told him he was in trouble, everyone else was already there and already working.

"Do not try telling me you had a flat McTardy, your car is in the lot, looked okay to me."

"I came in on the Metro; power failure caused hold-ups, you can check the internet if you don't believe me Tony."

"I believe you; just don't understand why you were on the Metro."

Tim reddened slightly; he hadn't been looking forward to this. "I...last night, I couldn't find my car keys, I have my spare set now, so I'm good."

He tried to ignore the glare he was getting from Gibbs and hurried to his desk. As clear as if he was shouting it out loud Gibbs was telling him to quit the small-talk, and get on with some work. Tim opened the drawer and let out a quiet explanation. "What the..."

Tony was over at his desk in an instant. "Hey, thought you said you lost your keys, what's that, chopped liver?"

Tim was shaking his head in disbelief. "They weren't here...last night...I searched all over."

Ziva looked over and smiled sympathetically. "Perhaps you were mistaken, your concussion..."

"Was minor Ziva!" Tim sat down and glanced apologetically at his team-mate. "Sorry...no call for me to shout. I'm fine really, only...can't think how I missed this last night."

Gibbs took off his glasses and looked from one to the other. "You gonna have an investigation into McGee's non-missing keys, or are you going to get back to work anytime soon." Tony and Ziva quickly got on with typing and Tim waited impatiently for his computer to boot up: why did that always seem to take forever when you were in a hurry?

They spent the rest of the morning finalising their reports, Abby's tests had come back negative, their two Marines hadn't been taking drugs. They may not have died in Afghanistan, but Ramirez and Grover were victims of that conflict as sure as if a Taliban sniper had put a bullet in their heads.

Gibbs signed off on the reports with a heavy heart, these men had needed help, and once again they'd slipped through the safety net. After a quick coffee run he settled down to read Tim's completed report on the Aherne arrest.

He read the paragraph again, there was no mistake. "Tim, this section here, you saw a gun?"

"I...it was just for a second." Playing the incident back in his mind Tim tried to pinpoint the moment he saw the gun...he had seen it, he was sure...

"You're certain?"

Tim nodded slightly, he'd been certain the day before yesterday...today...

Gibbs saw the uncertainty on Tim's face. "Tony, Ziva, did you see anything?"

"Tony and I entered through the rear; we had clear sight-lines only to the pool tables."

Gibbs looked over at Tony who nodded in confirmation. "That's right Boss, it was only when all hell broke loose that we got a good look at the whole room."

"I did see it! I...I know I did."

"Okay, if you're sure. Once I sign off on your report it can't be altered, so if you want to make any changes, this is the time to do it."

"No alterations, I know what I saw...Boss, if we don't get a new case, maybe I could get the security camera footage from the bar, wouldn't hurt to take a look." Tim was trying not to look at Tony and Ziva; he could imagine their sceptical expressions, especially after the 'missing keys'.

Gibbs considered the request for a minute. "If we don't get a new case; just don't take up too much time with it; the gun, if there was a gun, wasn't used so it doesn't factor into our investigation." He noted the change in Tim's expression; Gibbs could see he was already eager to get started. "You leave this alone until Monday Tim, give yourself the weekend to catch up on some rest."

"But..." Tim didn't bother saying another word, he knew the look Gibbs was giving him, it was the one that said any argument was pointless. He sat down again and opened up his emails, might as well tidy up before he finished for the day.

Tim was engrossed in his task and jumped a little when he heard a metallic rattling sound nearby.

"Hey there McNervy, no call to be so jumpy; Ziva and I, we have a gift for you." Tony grinned and pointed to Tim's desk.

Ziva elbowed Tony aside and picked up what looked to Tim like a pile of paperclips. "As you know, I am very...adept in the use of paperclips. This time, instead of a weapon I...we, have fashioned a key-chain for you, see." She held up the clips and Tim could see she had linked them together to form a chain.

Tony reached down to open the top drawer of Tim's desk and grab a set of keys. "We figured if you hang your keys on here and keep it round your neck..."

"Thanks Tony...I get the idea, but you know what you can do with your paper clips; you can take them and..."

"McGee, do not take it so seriously, we were simply trying to make you smile, your last few days have been...difficult, after your concussion."

Tim slammed the drawer shut and got to his feet. "Ziva, will you stop going on about that? I am fine! Why can't you just leave it be? Stupid question, when does Very Special Agent Anthony DiNozzo ever let things alone?"

"Hey, wasn't just me!"

A piercing whistle silenced them in an instant. "McGee, sit down, David, DiNozzo get back to work, now!" Gibbs could see that Tony was about to open his mouth one more time. "Next person to say a word that isn't work-related gets to clean the truck."

The three members of his team tucked their heads behind their monitors and got typing pretty fast. They spent the rest of the day working so quietly Gibbs wondered if he shouldn't have sent them all to clean the truck, maybe that would have lightened the mood a little. It was too late now, might as well let them go home, have the weekend to cool down.

"Hit the road people, we're done for the day."

Tony didn't need to be told twice; he had a hot date planned, and if they got away now, no new case was going to mess up his arrangements. He grabbed his back pack and was half-way to the elevator before he realised he was alone. "Come on you two, Boss said we could go."

Ziva waved him away with a shooing motion. "You go Tony, I am sure Tiffany is already eager to see you."

"How did you…? Forget it; see you all Monday. Hey McGee, about the paper clips…"

"Doesn't matter Tony, guess I overreacted, I just wish…never mind, have a good weekend."

"I will." With a devilish grin Tony was gone.

Ziva hesitated at her desk. "McGee, if you have no plans for the evening, would you like to go for a drink; my treat?"

Tim smiled a little, but shook his head; he knew it was Ziva's way of saying she was sorry for earlier, he simply wasn't in a sociable frame of mind. "Some other time maybe; I could use an early night."

"Then would you like a ride home?"

"No thanks, I'm good to drive and I even get to choose which set of keys I use tonight." He knew it was a lame attempt at humour, but it was the best he could come up with right now because he was pretty tired. He just didn't want to leave for the day with bad feeling between them.

"Very well, then I will walk with you to the car." He linked her arm in his and they walked together to the elevator.

"Goodnight Gibbs"

"Goodnight Boss"

Gibbs waved to them; he leaned back in his chair with a contented sigh. They'd be fine, just give them a couple of days to relax and everything would be back to the craziness that passed for normal on the MCRT.

NCIS NCIS

Tim stretched out his arms and took a deep breath; it was light which was a good sign, meant he'd slept right through the night. Tim glanced at his clock 11.14, he smiled, man he really had been tired, small wonder he was so cranky yesterday afternoon.

Thirty minutes later he was drinking a fresh cup of coffee, feeling refreshed and raring to go after his shower. First order of business, grocery shopping, he was out of eggs, had barely enough coffee for another pot, and he was in the mood for a home-made muffin from the farmer's market. He quickly rinsed out his empty cup, picked up his car keys which he noted with a smile, were exactly where he had left them last night, grabbed a jacket and headed down to the parking garage.

His stride was almost jaunty as he went through his mental shopping list; it felt good to have his mind clear of any residual fuzziness from his concussion. Everything was clear and in focus and he was confident that after another good night he'd be ready for whatever the new week had to offer.

"Damn it!" Tim's voice echoed round the garage as he ran to his car. The front tyre was completely flat. "Not again!" He took off his jacket ready to replace the punctured tyre when he remembered; the spare was flat, he hadn't had time to replace it. His only option now was a call to the auto-club; his shopping would have to wait. Tim did a quick check round the car to see if any more tyres were flat. "What the…" Etched into the silver paint on the driver's door were three letters…PIG.

Tim looked around, was whoever did this still here? No, he was alone, he was certain; security camera, he knew there was a camera, he looked up without much confidence, the way things were going for him…sure enough the camera was hanging precariously from a single wire.

He reached for his phone, his earlier energy and enthusiasm draining away. Instead of a drive out to the farmer's market and an enjoyable stroll looking at the fresh produce, he was going to be tied up reporting this to the police and arranging repairs. As he selected the local police number from the contact list on his phone Tim couldn't hold back a deep sigh. Was his luck ever going to change?


	4. Chapter 4

10

Tim's hopes of having a restful weekend had been dashed the minute he discovered the damage to his car. There had been a police report to file, a tow truck to organise, as well as a repairs estimate for the insurance claim, a rental car contract to sign...it had been late Saturday evening when he was done with everything; he'd fallen into bed exhausted and hungry. There had been no time to shop so Tim had made do with a can of soup while he was on hold with the insurance company. He had no appetite for anything more substantial, all he could think of was that someone knew he was in law enforcement and had managed to get into the parking garage without being seen. Maybe he should change the locks on his apartment, or maybe he was being over cautious...Tim tossed and turned all night and eventually, at 4am he gave up all pretence of trying to sleep.

Tim had taken his time getting ready for his Sunday, instead of the usual shower he'd run a hot bath, and had a long soak to try and ease some of the tension that seemed to have been present ever since he'd seen those three letters...how did someone get in, and why? He didn't advertise the fact that he was a Federal Agent, but he didn't hide it either; it was simply who he was, and now his personal space had been invaded and he sure as hell did not like it.

The rest of his day was spent catching up on all the chores he hadn't been able to get done on Saturday. Shopping, laundry, household chores...he decided not to change the locks, seemed like that was taking caution one step too far; after all there was a security code required for access to the building, getting up to his floor and into his apartment would be a lot harder than getting into the parking garage. Residents were forever leaving the gates open down there rather than waiting for them to open when they returned to the garage.

Tim went to bed Sunday night feeling a little less unsettled, but as he lay down to try and sleep, all the uncertainties of the last few days came crowding in on him...his mislaid phone, two flats in two days, the scratched letters of hate, the car keys...he knew they weren't in the drawer when he looked, how did they get back there? Once again sleep was a long time coming, and it was after 3am before he managed to get some real sleep. Couldn't last; his alarm dragged him back into consciousness at 05.30 and it was time to face a new working week.

NCIS NCIS

Tim switched off the engine; thankfully he'd made it into work without incident, and on time. The last few days he'd learned to be grateful for small mercies, and at least his rental car was relatively new and unscathed.

"Hey McGee, you have a good weekend? Whoa...what's with the car; seriously a Toyota Corolla?"

"Don't start Tony, the Porsche is in the shop, some creep vandalised it, and until it's fixed I have to make do with this."

Tony took a few steps toward Tim and put his arm round his shoulder."That's a major ouch Tim. What happened, did they find who did it?"

Tim shrugged. "No way of knowing, no prints, or security camera footage, no witnesses; as far as the local LEOs are concerned, no big deal."

"Shows what they know. Come on, I'll get you a coffee before we go inside."

"Can I take a rain check Tony? I want to get started on the warrant for the security footage."

Tony was puzzled. "I thought you said there was no...oh, the Aherne thing. You're not ready to let it drop?"

"Nope." Tim was in no mood to discuss the Aherne arrest, he just hoped they didn't get a new case so he could get to the footage later. He had to deflect Tony, get him onto another subject. "So Tony. Did Tiffany meet expectations?"

"And then some, let me tell you..."

Tim smiled; worked every time.

NCIS NCIS

"McGee, you have been watching the same pictures over and over; Tony has watched, I have watched...there is no gun. You were mistaken, it can happen, you must let it go."

Tim wasn't prepared to do that. "I could take it to Abby, maybe..."

"No Tim, Ziva's right, with only one camera we're never going to get a complete picture of what happened. With what's available, this is as far as we can go."

Tim knew Ziva and Tony were right, but he'd so wanted there to be something to prove he really had seen a gun. Originally, he hadn't wanted to involve them in watching the footage, but they must have seen his growing frustration and had offered fresh pairs of eyes. Tim had been pleased to accept the offer, his eyes felt sore from staring intently at the screen. The few hours rest he'd been able to get over the weekend had worn off quickly and it was only a regular coffee intake that was keeping him on track.

He closed the video program and set about his next task. As Gibbs was fond of telling them, there was always a cold case they could look into, he didn't want to see them sitting round doing nothing. Tim emailed the case agent in charge of cold cases and waited for the file he knew would be in his inbox shortly. He picked up his coffee cup and took another gulp, he really had to get some sleep tonight or even Gibbs' brand wouldn't keep him awake.

A familiar figure stumbled out of the elevator and Tony called out. "Hey Dorny, what brings you up here in the real world?"

"Hi Agent DiNozzo, I...my new rotation starts this week, no more cyber crimes; I'll be working on Agent Maulin's team."

Tim had spoken to Ned Dorneget a few times during his stint in the sub-basement; Ned didn't especially like the work down there, but Director Vance liked his new agents to have an opportunity to work in as many departments as possible. "Good to see you back in the daylight Ned, you'll enjoy working with Sue, she has a good team."

"Thanks McG-Tim, I know I'll learn a lot."

Tony grinned as Dorneget passed his desk. "Not as much as you'd learn with us, we are the crackerjack team round these parts."

"I am sure you have told Agent Dorneget this on many occasions Tony." Ziva smiled warmly at Dorneget. "Good luck with your new assignment, and perhaps we will work together again soon."

Ned blushed, mumbled his thanks and hurried to his new team; Tony turned to Tim with a knowing smile. "I think Dorny's got the hots for our very own Probationary Agent David."

Tim's eyebrows went up just a fraction. "Ya think Tony?" Just then he got the incoming email he'd been expecting, so he settled back at his keyboard and opened up the summary case file.

NCIS NCIS

Thankfully they'd got away just after six, and Tim was even more relieved that there were no major holdups on the way home. He didn't feel like cooking so he called for Chinese on the way. After catching up with a few personal emails he headed for bed, his eyes had been closing even as he was reading the last of his messages; tonight he was convinced he was going to get eight hours uninterrupted sleep.

Tim heard the sound of his alarm...so soon, could it really be morning already? Then he realised, it wasn't the alarm, it was his phone. He reached over to the nightstand and gave a whispered curse as he dropped the phone to the floor, luckily there was a rug by the side of his bed and the phone was undamaged, he got out of bed and hurried to answer the insistent ringtone, he checked the caller ID, Gibbs.

"Boss?" There was no answer, "Boss, can you hear me, are you okay?" Tim was wide awake now; was Gibbs in trouble? Suddenly he was aware he was listening to dead air, now Tim was really worried, he selected Gibbs' number from his speed dial list. There were a few breathless seconds while Tim listened to the phone ring, once, twice…

"Gibbs."

"Boss, are you okay?"

"McGee, what the…it's 02.50, do we have a new case?"

"I…you called me, I thought something was wrong…"

"Something is wrong McGee! I did not call you, you called me ay 2.50 in the morning for no damned reason, get your head back in the game Tim, or we are going to have a serious conversation. Now, I'm going back to sleep, and I suggest you do the same."

The call was ended before Tim had chance to say anything, he wasn't mistaken, Gibbs had called…how could he prove it? The call log; that would show...Tim checked the log, he'd show Gibbs later, and when he saw the call listing he'd know Tim wasn't mistaken. The log showed an incoming call just a minute ago, only…it wasn't from Gibbs; it was a number he didn't recognise. Tim's head started to ache, this couldn't be, it did say Gibbs on the caller ID, he was certain it was Gibbs' name, not an anonymous number, how was this possible? He did see it…he did…but did he? He'd been in a deep sleep when the phone went off, had he made a mistake, seen something that wasn't there? But if that was so, who was calling him at this hour?

When he got to work, he'd check the unknown number, do a trace…a new and worrying thought entered his head, what if this was the same person who'd vandalised his car, was someone out to get him, and if so why? The troubling questions crowded in on him, Tim lay back on his pillows, hoping sleep would come, but not expecting it…never mind, in a few hours he could start searching, and maybe when he found who had called him, he could find out why Gibbs' ID had come up on his phone, because the more he thought about it, the more convinced he was that he had seen Gibbs' name, all he had to do now was prove it.

NCIS NCIS

After about four hours sleep all told Tim was back at his desk, he'd been unable to get back to sleep after the early morning phone call, but he'd been determined to stay in bed and try to relax until his alarm went off. He opened up his computer and took out his phone ready to get the search program running; he heard the elevator, but kept his head down, he didn't want any distractions.

"Come on Ziva, you have to have seen _Stagecoach, _it should be compulsory viewing for anyone who becomes a US citizen. Back me up here McGee; yo McGee!"

Tim looked up to see Tony and Ziva staring at him with matching expressions of concern, Ziva leaned on his desk. "Have you slept at all McGee?"

"Umm…a little, I had…" He spotted Gibbs on the stairs and clammed up. "Doesn't matter."

"Gear up, possible child abduction, Norfolk Naval Station."

By the end of a day that concluded with the discovery of the young girl in an abandoned munitions store on base, Tim was too exhausted to even think about starting the trace on last night's mysterious phone call. Thankfully, Kathryn Andrews had not been harmed, and it looked as if her ordeal was the result of a teenage prank gone wrong. Her older brother was tired of watching out for his baby sister and had taken her for a walk in an area of the base with which she was not familiar; he'd left her for a short time to meet up with his friends and had been terrified when he returned to find her gone.

Tim drove home feeling a mixture of elation and humiliation, elation that they'd found Kathryn and reunited her with her family, including a very chastened brother. The humiliation came from the fact that he'd been caught out in the field without his phone. He blushed just thinking about the moment when Gibbs asked him to call for extra help with the search. Tim had checked every pocket and finally had to admit his phone was still on his desk at headquarters. Gibbs hadn't said a word, his look of disgust told Tim his stock was falling even further…He didn't waste his breath with apologies, just suffered the ignominy of having to ask Tony if he could use his phone.

Tony had been 'only too happy to help out a buddy,' which might have been a comfort to Tim had it not been accompanied by the trademark DiNozzo grin, and the knowledge that Tim's lapse would be the talk of NCIS by the end of the day.

It was only the fact that their working day ended so late that Tim was saved from that particular torment. Tim knew Tony wasn't likely to let him off the hook, but at least he had a few more hours respite.

After another quick supper eaten standing up in his kitchen Tim had fallen into bed, he was so tired, surely this was the night he would finally get some sleep.

NCIS NCIS

Tim sat in the doctor's waiting room, he should have known better than expect to get any real rest, there was simply too much going on in his head. At about 3.30 am he made the decision to get some sleeping pills, seemed like it was the only way he was going to sleep more than three hours at a stretch. He'd been lucky enough to get an early appointment and after leaving a message on Gibbs' office phone, he wasn't ready to risk talking with Gibbs and tell him yet again that he was likely to be late for work, Tim had driven to his appointment.

It took a little longer that he'd hoped to get the prescription filled at the pharmacy, but he finally got to work just thirty minutes late.

Tim knew there was trouble the minute he stepped off the elevator; Gibbs' face was like thunder, and Tony and Ziva were doing their best not to catch his eye.

"McGee, you just tell me if this job is interfering with your social life; I'm pretty sure I know the perfect way to stop that happening."

"Boss…I..."

"No more excuses! You see Tony and Ziva, they're here, just like yesterday, and the day before, you…"

"But I called." Tim reeled with the injustice of what Gibbs was saying, shouting more like; he could see heads turning all round the squad room, "I…I left a message, didn't you check your phone?" Tim moved toward Gibbs' desk to check for himself, but a glare from Gibbs halted his progress.

"You are obsessed with phones; I had enough of that the other night."

Tim's shoulders slumped and he trudged over to his own desk, how could the message not be there? He had called, explained about his appointment.

"Hey McGee, your rental get a flat this time?" Tony was trying in his own way to lighten the mood, but Tim just shook his head.

"You know Tony, it doesn't matter, I'm late, I'm screwed…same old, same old. Just drop it, okay?"

Tony wasn't good at letting things rest, but he got a look from Ziva that told him to leave well alone. He got back to work, but he wasn't going to let Tim off that easily, something was wrong and he knew he only had to ask Ziva, preferably when Gibbs wasn't around, and she'd help him get to the bottom of what was bothering their team mate.

"Morning everyone, I…Sue asked me to get coffee, so I figured I'd bring some back for you guys too. Here you go."

For once, Ned Dorneget had managed to enter the squad room unnoticed, Tony was glad to see him, any distraction was good right now. Tim managed a small smile as he noted that Dorny had got Gibbs' regular brand; the youngster was learning. Dorneget handed out the coffees, blushing as ever when he got to Ziva's desk; he put a cup down on Tim's desk and set a paper bag beside it. "You looked a little out of sorts yesterday Tim, so I got you a doughnut too, with the sprinkles, Tony says you like them."

"I do Ned, thanks. I missed breakfast this morning…"

"And whose fault was that McGee? You don't have time for coffee; you have plenty of catching up to do, get to work."

When Gibbs was in this mood there was no reasoning with him, so Tim didn't even bother; with an apologetic shrug of his shoulders to Dorneget, he pushed the coffee and the paper bag aside and did as he was told.


	5. Chapter 5

8

Somehow Tim got through the rest of the day, after writing his report on Kathryn Anderson's disappearance he went back to the cold case file. He didn't dare start a search on the phone number while Gibbs was watching his every move. There had been a brief respite mid-way through the day when he'd gone out for lunch with Abby. As they were walking to the diner Tim had a fleeting thought that he could ask Abby to run the search for him, but she was so excited about her upcoming vacation that he didn't have the heart to dampen her high spirits by telling her his problems.

He was surprised to find he actually felt a lot better after lunch, not only had he eaten a good, healthy meal for the first time in days, but he'd found Abby's high spirits had lifted some of the gloom from his day.

"Kyle is such a great guy Tim, you'll like him a lot, when we come back we should all go out for dinner."

"I'd like that Abs, if he's anything like you it should be a fun night."

She had laughed aloud and Tim found himself grinning in response. "Oh Timmy, he's nothing like me...I mean, he looks a little like me, the eyes...but he's such a calm, laid back guy...you know, I wish we'd known about each other when we were growing up..."

Her smile had faded and Tim took her hand in his. "Just be grateful you found each other, and think how great it's going to be showing Kyle all your old haunts!"

"You always know how to make me feel better; you're right...two weeks in Louisiana, oh Timmy, it's going to be wonderful." She paused briefly to take a close look at her friend. "How about you, are you okay? You look tired."

"I'm good, not sleeping so well right now..."

She lifted her hand and gently touched the fading bruise on his temple. "Is it because of this?"

"No Abs, it was just a mild concussion...I'll be fine just as soon as I get a decent night's sleep."

Abby didn't look convinced; Tim kissed her cheek, he had no intention of going into detail about the way his life seemed to have unravelled in the last few days, so he steered the conversation back to Kyle, and relaxed as Abby launched into a day by day description of what she had planned for their vacation.

His good mood didn't last long; as soon as he walked back into the squad room he felt like a dark cloud was gathering over him. Gibbs' voice echoed across the room. "You forget Rule Number 3, McGee?"

Tim put his hand in his pocket immediately, he knew the rule alright, never be unreachable, he also knew that he had his phone with him, he'd made sure of that before he left for lunch. "I...my phone is right here Boss."

"Then why weren't you answering?"

"Oh no..." Tim stared at the phone in his hand, it was completely dead, so much had been going on he'd completely forgotten to charge the battery. "Boss I...my fault, I didn't...I'm..."

"Don't apologise, not to me anyhow, I'm not the one who was looking for you. The Director wants you in MTAC, about thirty minutes ago..."

Tim had gone hurrying up the stairs and after gaining admission to MTAC he'd made his apologies to the Director and settled down to complete the task Vance had for him. It had taken the rest of the afternoon, and when he emerged back into the squad room the others had already gone for the day. He picked up his back pack ready for the journey home and gave a tired smile when he saw the note attached.

'If you want a drink, or just to talk, call me, don't forget to charge your phone, Tony.'

Tim whispered. "Maybe another night..." Tonight all he wanted to do was get a decent night's sleep, however he did follow Tony's advice about the phone and plugged it in to charge before he warmed up some soup. He really did need to start eating some proper meals, but at least he'd had a decent lunch...he reached for the coffee pot but thought better of it, he'd just have water tonight, swill down his sleeping pills and hit the sack.

Tim swallowed the last of his soup, put the dish in the sink, he'd wash it in the morning with his breakfast things, and he would make sure he got breakfast tomorrow. He got ready for bed, double-checked that his phone was charging, made sure his alarm was set, then he picked up his back pack and opened the pocket where he'd put the pills that morning. Not there...okay, maybe he'd put them in another pocket, with increasing urgency he checked every pocket and compartment in the bag; eventually he tipped the contents onto his bed and went through everything, they were gone...his hands were shaking as he went though the contents again, Tim scraped his hands through his hair and tried to get his breathing under control, calm down, think...his jacket, maybe he put them in his jacket; he hurried over to the closet, checked the clothes he'd worn to work, nothing, he even checked the laundry basket to make sure he hadn't tossed them on there with his dirty clothes...it couldn't be, this wasn't happening to him...how could they be missing?

Tim had been tired before, now he was completely exhausted, he gave up the search, with a swipe of his arm he cleared everything off his bed and climbed in. Surely this was the night when even without a sedative of any kind he'd be able to sleep right through to morning.

NCIS NCIS

"Hey Tim, you look like you need this...bad night?" Ned Dorneget put a cup of coffee on Tim's desk, they were the first to arrive, even Gibbs was nowhere to be seen.

"Thank Ned...I've had better, you're early."

Ned grinned. "Sue asked me to run a search today, thought I'd get a head start, rack up some brownie points. I got coffee for everyone, didn't get any pastries though..."

"That's okay Ned, I had plenty of time for breakfast this morning; here, let me pay you for the drinks, you got them yesterday..."

"No Tim, you can get them next time, deal?" The elevator pinged and Ned was already moving toward his own desk as he saw Gibbs arrive.

"I'll do that Ned, thanks again." Tim took a sip of his hot coffee, it was good and he was most likely going to need lots of these to help him through the day. He'd gone off to sleep almost immediately last night, but his rest had been short-lived, within two hours he was awake again, and once he was awake there was no way he was going back to sleep. At least he'd had time to make himself a good breakfast and make sure he got to work before everyone else. He smiled to himself, maybe it would earn him a few brownie points with Gibbs; Tim risked a glance in his boss's direction, judging by Gibbs' grave expression he still had a lot of work to do.

"You got your phone charged up McGee?"

"Y...yes, I'm good to go."

"You sure about that, you look like hell."

"Didn't get much sleep..."

"No kidding; if we get a call today, can we rely on you out there?"

Tim blushed deeply, he wouldn't be here if he didn't think he could do his job, didn't Gibbs know that? "I won't let anyone down Boss, here or in the field."

"Do we have a call?" Tony and Ziva looked quizzically at Gibbs; he shook his head.

"No, you can carry on with the cold case files."

Knowing full well they'd been told to keep their noses out of things, the two agents sat at their desks and started work. It hadn't escaped their notice that Tim wasn't looking his best, each day the shadows under his eyes were a shade darker, as Tony opened up a new file on his computer he promised himself that he was going to have a talk with Tim after work, heck he hadn't even asked Tin about his car...

"Hey Tim, you get the Porsche back? Tim!"

"Oh...sorry Tony, miles away, did you want something?"

"Just to know if they're finished with your car."

"Should be done by Monday; I hope it is, I could use some good news."

Tony was about to invite Tim for a drink after work, but he could see Gibbs watching and decided to leave that particular conversation until later.

For a while they all worked quietly, settling in to the normal routine they had when they weren't working a case. If their reports were up to date they each took a cold case file and worked it until such time as a new case came in, then the file would be turned back to the agent in charge of cold cases and any new leads would be followed up.

Tim had two searches running on his case, and until they were complete he was at a loose end, he looked around, everyone else was working, their attention focussed on their screens, or in Gibbs' case a manila folder. Maybe it was time to get a search started on the number in his call log. He opened up the search program and checked the log on his cell, he could feel his heat beating a little faster, once he traced the number he'd be able to prove to Gibbs that someone had called him that night and when they talked to whoever it was then they'd know he didn't imagine the call.

His hands were shaking as he scrolled down the list of numbers...it wasn't there! He took a deep breath, don't rush this, he'd just missed it, take it slow...Tim scrolled through the list again, there was nothing for 02.49 Tuesday morning, no...this couldn't be happening, he had to get that number, to prove he did receive the call, without it...if Gibbs didn't see...Tim felt the blood racing through his body, heard it rushing in his ears...he felt hot...so hot...

"Hey Tim, you okay?"

Tim didn't even hear Tony's question as he went racing to the men's room; he made it just in time. His legs seemed to give way on him and he fell to his knees in front of the toilet as the contents of his stomach made a violent reappearance; it was over in a matter of moments and Tim took a few shaky breaths as he tried to regain some composure. He struggled back to his feet, flushed the toilet and made his way toward the sinks.

"Tim, are you going to tell me what's wrong?"

Tim had been concentrating so hard on putting one foot in front of the other he hadn't noticed Tony, he looked worried, and Tim realised for the first time what a sight he must look. He took a few paces to the sink and splashed some cold water in his face, a glimpse in the mirror told him why Tony looked so concerned. He felt a hand on his shoulder and two paper towels were placed gently in his hand.

"Here, wipe your face; Tim you look terrible, are you sick?"

What could he tell him? There had been so many things he couldn't explain, even to himself, how could he even start telling Tony; but judging by the way Tony was looking at him he wasn't going to get away without an explanation.

"I...just not sleeping that's all, and the car...guess it just hit me that someone targeted the Porsche...and me...no other cars were touched...only mine..."

Tony put his arm round Tim's shoulders and led him back toward the squad room. "My fault for asking about the car, reminding you. Tim you look beat, maybe you should go home."

Tim wasn't sure he wanted to spend more hours lying wide awake on his bed, but he was starting to think seriously about the fact that he wasn't fit for work, especially in the field. As they approached their desks Tim wasn't surprised to see Ducky standing by Gibbs' desk, medical bag in hand, he was surprised to see the expression on his boss's face; Gibbs didn't look mad, he looked worried.

"Sit down Tim; I want Ducky to take a look at you."

Ziva pulled out his chair and brushed her fingers lightly over his cheek. "Why did you not tell us you were feeling unwell?"

"Didn't think I was Ziva...I thought...just tired I guess."

"Let me be the judge of that Timothy, Ziva would you mind getting some water please, I'd hazard a guess that you could use a drink eh lad?"

Tim smiled his thanks; he'd been drinking way too much coffee the last few days, probably one of the reasons he couldn't sleep. The other members of his team kept a discrete distance as Ducky checked him over and asked him a few questions. Tim tried to be as honest as he could, but he wasn't ready to tell anyone about the missing sleeping pills, the more he thought about it the more he was convinced he'd dropped them somewhere between the pharmacy and headquarters. As Ducky fastened his bag Gibbs got up from his desk and stood beside his old friend.

"What's the verdict Duck?"

"His blood pressure is low, heart rate a little high, temperature near normal, I don't think there is any real cause for concern. I would say he's completely exhausted and has been neglecting to eat properly, is that about right Timothy?"

Tim nodded slowly. "I don't seem to have much of an appetite, and even though I feel really tired I'm not sleeping so good."

"Then I will prescribe a mild sedative to help you with that, and I order you to have a good meal, you'll find it will be easier to sleep if you don't go to bed hungry."

"How did you know...about the food..."

"I may be a Medical Examiner but I'm also a doctor." Ducky patted Tim on the shoulder. "You'll be fine after some good food and plenty of sleep; however, you are most certainly not well enough to be here today."

"But...if I stay at my desk."

"No Tim, Ducky's right, I should have sent you home this morning. Tony, drive him home in the rental, I'll follow and give you a ride back here."

"No problema. Tim, you wait for me in the car, I'll get the prescription and meet you there."

Tim felt like a weight was lifting from his shoulders, it was good to have people who wanted to help, maybe...no, he wasn't ready to talk about the crazy things that had been happening to him. Best thing he could do was forget about all that, maybe the weekend would give him time to get his head together, and he could come back to work Monday feeling revived and refreshed.


	6. Chapter 6

7

Tim balanced the tray as he exited the elevator, Gibbs was at his desk but he'd beaten Ziva and Tony and he wasn't late!

"Hey Boss, coffee's up."

Gibbs looked Tim up and down and gave a smile of satisfaction. "You're looking better."

"Well, you guys already know I slept most of the weekend, and I had plenty of really good food." Tim set Gibbs' cup on his desk. "I…I want to say thanks Boss, for everything you did."

"Wasn't just me Tim."

"I know, I had a real surprise when I saw the casserole and pizza in the refrigerator; I guess Ducky was right about going to bed hungry."

"Ya think?" Gibbs was pleased to see Tim looking much more like he had before his concussion. He'd called in on Tim twice over the weekend and on both occasions he'd been asleep, but a quick check on the refrigerator showed that Tim was following Ducky's instructions. "No more living on soup Tim, and don't forget, if you're in trouble it doesn't make you less of a man to ask for help."

"I'll remember that…hey guys, I really appreciate everything you did for me, and the food, thank you both."

Ziva and Tony were smiling contentedly, Tim looked fine, their food package visits had obviously worked the way they'd hoped when they stocked up Tim's kitchen. "You should go shopping more often you know McSnoozy; your kitchen cabinets made mine look well stocked."

"I've been kinda…preoccupied Tony, but I promise I'll do better. Ziva, the lamb was amazing, thank you." Tim handed Tony and Ziva their drinks and Ziva leaned over to kiss his cheek.

"You are most welcome McGee."

"Hey! How do you know I didn't make the lamb casserole?"

Tim's eyebrows raised just a little. "Seriously Tony? The pizza was from your favourite Pizzeria; don't forget you've taken me there." They were all laughing as Tim lifted another cup from the tray and headed over to Dorneget's desk. "Ned, thanks for the drinks last week, here's the first repayment."

Dorneget blushed and his hand was trembling a little as he took the cup. "Oh…thanks Tim…I never expected…"

"Don't sweat it Ned, it's only a cup of coffee."

Tim settled back at his desk; it had been the most bizarre weekend he could remember, he smiled again; he didn't have that much to remember, he'd been asleep most of the time. Ever since Friday afternoon when Tony had driven him home and Gibbs had followed shortly after complete with the first of the weekend's provisions, Tim had found himself relaxing for the first time in days.

Gibbs had even stayed to cook the steak and make sure Tim had eaten everything on his plate. "Good work Tim, now you get some sleep, that's an order."

Tony had taken Tim's spare key so they could check on him over the weekend and Tim had taken a quick shower and fallen into bed; at long last he found some release from the stress he had been under.

It was mid-morning on Sunday before he ventured into the outside world, after a long hot bath he'd decided to go for a walk. He'd tried to keep his mind free of the problems that had been nagging away at him since the Aherne arrest; instead he concentrated on the beauty of the day. Eventually he sat on a bench in the park listening to the sounds of people enjoying a Sunday afternoon; there were picnics, ball games, people just hanging out together. He'd sent text messages to Gibbs, Tony and Ziva thanking them for all their help and letting them know he could fend for himself. He wasn't ready to talk, just wanted to soak in the sights and sounds of normality.

Tim took a sip of coffee and switched on his computer, confident that he was ready for work, whatever the day had in store. He hadn't forgotten the weird things that had been happening, but now that he'd had time to think, he was inclined to accept the idea that his concussion had messed with his head and left him forgetful and confused. High time he shook off the despondency and got on with getting back to normal and back to work; he opened up his email; nothing in his inbox, now that was unusual. In fact he was pretty sure it was the first time it had ever happened, there was usually something there, even if it was yet another message from Human Resources advertising their latest seminars. Just to be on the safe side Tim checked the mail archive, nothing there he wasn't expecting to see. Not a problem, at least it meant he could get back to work on his cold case file. Or at least that was the plan.

"Gear up! Dead Marine near the Whitney Young Memorial Bridge."

NCIS NCIS

With Ducky's permission Tim had scanned their victim's fingerprints; he read the report from his screen. "Marine Lieutenant Grant Nash, he was on temporary assignment with the NSA…"

"Don't tell me, it's a classified operation."

Tim nodded ruefully; he could see a visit to Fort Meade in his not too distant future, after all Gibbs would need someone to translate.

They had completed the documentation of the crime scene and Lieutenant Nash was ensconced in Autopsy with Ducky and Jimmy. On their return to NCIS Tim started background checks on Nash's financial and phone records. Gibbs was in with the Director, trying to arrange a visit to Nash's place of work, and Ziva and Tony went to interview Nash's wife. Tim was engrossed in his work and it took him a moment to notice the aroma of fresh coffee. "Oh, thanks Boss, everything looks normal so far, no major deposits or withdrawals, phone records show mostly family calls, there are a couple of numbers I still have to trace..."

"You okay Tim?" Gibbs had noticed a slight tremor in Tim's voice when he was talking about the trace.

"Yes...fine, lots of data coming in, I don't want to miss anything." Tim got back to work and tried to forget about the late night phone call and the abortive trace...he had managed not to think about it all day so far, too much going on. He took a minute to drink his coffee and relax while the searches were running and told himself to forget about the missing call and move on; heaven knew there was enough going on at NCIS to keep him busy.

There was precious little time to stop and think the rest of the day, more searches to complete and results to collate. By 19.30 they were all visibly slowing down and Gibbs figured there was nothing more they could do until the lab results were in tomorrow and he'd had chance to talk with the head of cryptography at the NSA. "Enough people; go get some sleep, report back at 07.00; Tim, we have an appointment to see Nash's boss at 09.00."

"Okay Boss, all the data will be in before then, so my report should be finished before we leave."

NCIS NCIS

The squad room was a hive of quiet activity as they all picked up on their tasks from the previous day. Gibbs was down in the lab trying to coax Abby's temporary replacement into hurrying the forensics; Tony and Ziva were calling more of Nash's friends and former colleagues, trying to find anything that might lead them to a motive for murder.

Tim's searches had been completed and he'd discovered there were two people on Lieutenant Nash's call log who appeared to have made contact within the last few days. It may not be significant, but he thought it would be worthwhile talking with them; he glanced at his watch, there wouldn't be time for him to see them, so he handed the names to Tony.

"Lieutenant Nash got calls from these people the day he was killed, might be worth visiting them, they both live close to where the Lieutenant was found."

"How about you do your own questioning? Oh wait...you have to babysit the Boss in secret-code land. Ow! The new lab-rat not much help Boss?" Tony rubbed the back of his head; he really wished Gibbs would announce his arrival in the squad room.

"The sooner Abby's back, the better. Come on McGee, let's go see if anyone at the NSA is willing to talk."

NCIS NCIS

Simply getting in to the department where Grant Nash spent the last few weeks of his life seemed to take an age. Their credentials were checked every step of the way and Tim could see Gibbs' frustration building, he thought there was going to be an explosion when they were told they had to leave their cell-phones at the last security checkpoint. Gibbs just about managed to keep a hold on his temper and eventually they were talking with Stephen Lowe, the civilian in charge of the NSA Cryptography Department.

Nothing about the interview assisted Gibbs in his attempt to maintain some semblance of control. Lowe answered their questions either with a flat 'no comment' or a monosyllabic response. Eventually, after going through the same thing over and over, and being no further along in their investigation than when they left NCIS, Gibbs managed to wring one concession out of Lowe. He agreed that Tim could go through the files on Nash's computer.

"Under supervision Agent Gibbs, and he'll have to work here, the computer does not leave this room. There are certain files for which he does not have the required security clearance, but I'm sure the Lieutenant had some personal data on there, and Agent McGee can access those files."

Gibbs cast a questioning glance in Tim's direction, Tim nodded; it wasn't ideal, but it was better than nothing.

"I'll get back to NCIS; see if our forensics specialist has finally done his job. Tim, when you're done here, call and one of us will come get you."

"It could take a while Boss, if Nash encrypted his files…"

"Doesn't matter what time, just call."

Stephen Lowe was hovering at Gibbs' shoulder. "I'll get an escort to show you out; Agent McGee, Lieutenant Nash's workstation is right here."

Tim sat down at Nash's desk and switched on the computer; Lowe stood behind the chair. "No opening any documents until I have, ah, here he is. Wade, you watch him like a hawk."

The burly man gave a quick nod. "Will do sir, but we may have a problem. There a call for Agent McGee, from Director Vance, he says it's urgent."

"For me, you're sure?"

"Absolutely, just pick up that phone, hit zero."

Tim could see his confused expression mirrored in Gibbs' face; he hit zero as instructed. "Director?"

"Agent McGee, what the hell are you doing at the NSA?"

"Sir? I…we're on the Nash case."

"What about the Franklin case? You remember that? You should be testifying right now McGee! I ask again, what are you doing there?"

Tim was momentarily stunned; surely he hadn't forgotten something this important. "Wait…Director, the trial is next Tuesday; I remember because it's the day after Labor Day. I…I wouldn't forget…"

Gibbs could hear Vance even though the call wasn't on speaker. He was good and mad. "The trial was moved up! You got an email telling you to be ready today, you were informed McGee!"

Tim could feel the familiar tension returning…his emails; he knew there was something wrong yesterday. "Sir, I never received the message, you must know I wouldn't…"

"You don't have time to be making excuses McGee, get over to the courthouse. Now!"

Tim winced as the call was disconnected; he replaced the receiver and turned to Gibbs. "I have to go Boss."

"I'll give you a ride. Mr Lowe, we have to postpone the check on Lieutenant Nash's computer, but I still want Agent McGee to take a look tomorrow."

Lowe didn't look happy, but he nodded. "Very well, I shall be making a complaint to my Director, this is a very difficult time for everyone here, and dragging things out like this…it's totally unacceptable."

"Do what you have to, just so long as you don't get in the way of us doing our job." Gibbs headed for the door and Tim followed close behind; he knew he was in trouble…again. Sure enough as soon as they were in the car Gibbs let him have it. "Tim, what is going on here? You said you were fit to work! Now this; how could you miss an important email?"

"I didn't miss it!" Tim took a breath and tried again. "Yesterday, I checked my messages like I do every day, there was nothing Boss, not a single email."

"Even I know that's not possible, we get bombarded with stupid emails every single day, how could you think it was right to get nothing?"

"I didn't…I checked my archive, there was nothing Boss, you have to believe me."

Gibbs shook his head slightly. "There's been too much of this lately Tim, I haven't told anyone else about you calling me in the middle of the night…pull yourself together fast, you hear me?"

Tim leaned back in the seat as the first stirrings of a headache made themselves known, he rubbed his temples as he stared out of the window. "I hear you Boss."

CIS NCIS

He'd taken two sleeping pills but was still lying wide awake on his bed, reviewing his nightmare day.

Gibbs had barely driven away from the courtroom when Tim was called to the stand. Testifying had been an ordeal such as he had never experienced in a courtroom. He'd had no time to review his case notes and it didn't take long for the defence attorney to smell blood in the water. She'd pounced on every uncertainty; every hesitation and she had been relentless. Graeme Kent, the Assistant District Attorney assigned to the case had done his best to repair any damage, but Tim was convinced his pathetic performance on the stand was going to enable a guilty man to go free.

At the end of the day he'd attempted to apologise to ADA Kent. "If I had known, I'd have been better prepared."

"That's where I have a problem McGee, I emailed you Friday afternoon, you picked it up yesterday."

"No! I didn't get…"

"Then how come you sent me a reply, look." Kent took out his laptop and opened up his emails. Tim's mouth went dry when he saw his name in the list of responses in Kent's inbox. He looked closer.

"The time…I wasn't even in the office when this was sent." His voice dropped to a whisper. "Someone else…someone got to my computer…"

"Oh come on McGee; just admit you made a mistake."

"I would if I had, but…" Tim could see he was wasting his breath. "You're right, no excuses…if my performance in there hurt your case I am sorry, Franklin deserves to go to jail for a very long time."

Kent smiled briefly, it wasn't a warm smile. "I'd have been happier of the judge had granted the adjournment I asked for, or if you were better prepared, but we can't always have what we want. Don't worry McGee, the State has a strong case, Franklin's not walking away from this."

As Tim lay on his bed he could only hope that Kent's optimism wasn't misplaced, in fact he prayed he was right. Franklin deserved the severest punishment possible; he'd raped a young sailor and left her for dead, then tried to frame her boyfriend…Tim reached for the glass of water beside his bed and noticed his hands were shaking again; so much for the beneficial effects of a weekend's rest. Already he could feel the tension building up inside, his computer…how could someone get in and access his messages, not just access them, but send a reply…it was a violation and it had been carried out by someone who worked at NCIS. Who…who would want to do this to him?

He'd start looking tomorrow…no maybe not tomorrow; he had to be at the NSA for 07.30. Gibbs had called him at the courthouse to tell him he wouldn't be able to give him a ride, and he'd also ordered Tim home. "Don't be late tomorrow Tim, and don't miss anything, we're at a standstill with this case, we need a break."

"I won't let you down Boss."

Tim had taken a cab home and even though he didn't feel hungry, he'd heated up one of the meals Ziva had left for him. The good food and sedatives weren't working their magic tonight. Tim set the glass back on the nightstand, lay down and stretched his aching muscles…relax…how hard could it be? He took slow, regular breaths, he could do this, he had to, without sleep he couldn't function, and he had two important tasks ahead; to discover Grant Nash's killer, and to find out who was messing with his life…

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


	7. Chapter 7

6

**Chapter Seven**

Tim sighed as he finally made it to Nash's desk; it felt like Lowe had put even more barriers in his way than yesterday, but at last he was ready for work. Within twenty minutes he knew he was in for a long day; Lieutenant Nash had password protection on every file on his desktop, getting in wouldn't be easy, and once he was in Tim was certain things were going to be tougher.

By 5.30 that afternoon Tim's eyes were dry and sore from staring at the screen for hours on end, no one had offered him a drink all day, probably on Lowe's orders. Tim smiled, if Lowe thought he could get Tim to hurry back to NCIS without finishing his job, he was totally wrong. He'd come prepared with two bottles of water and sandwiches, he didn't need anything more…he was tired but he had the satisfaction of knowing that he'd done his job and done it well. He put the thumb drive in his pocket and picked up his back pack.

"Thank you for your hospitality Wade; it's been a pleasure working with you." The note of sarcasm in Tim's voice was obviously lost on Wade because he actually smiled for the first time as he showed Tim to the door. Of course, Tim reflected, it could just be that Wade was glad to be getting rid of him; either way Tim was delighted to be out of the NSA and on his way back to NCIS.

He felt a new surge of energy as he negotiated the traffic on the Baltimore-Washington Parkway on his way back to DC. He'd finally managed to get a few hours sleep last night, and although by mid-afternoon he had been starting to feel pretty tired, the discovery of the hidden files in Lieutenant Nash's email archive had given him a new impetus. He wasn't certain, but he thought what he had found in the files could be a case-breaker; he just needed to double-check something in his own files. If the DNA evidence backed up his conclusions they could be making arrests tonight.

NCIS NCIS

The squad room was almost deserted by the time he got back, Tony had called him to say they'd been out at Nash's home; his wife had received some mail for him, she didn't recognise the writing on the envelopes so she called Gibbs. They were on the way back to headquarters and should be arriving soon. Tim didn't mind the relative solitude; it gave him time to put everything together.

"Hey Tim, Tony said they never even offered you a cup of coffee over there, so I got one for you, it's only from the break room…"

Tim smiled at Dorneget's diffidence. "Believe me Ned, after a day without coffee I'll pretty much take anything I can get." He got out the thumb drive and put in on the desk. "Let me just get this running."

Ned reached over with the cup and set it down, he heard the elevator ping and quickly turned round to see Gibbs striding toward them.

"I…I'll get out of your way Tim; oh…oh my, I'm so sorry."

Tim leapt out of the chair as the hot coffee spilled onto his leg, he tried to pick up the flash drive, to keep it dry, but Dorneget was trying to do the same thing and their hands got tangled.

"Ned, I've got it!" Tim pushed Ned's hand aside and reached out again, his fingers were wet and the drive fell to the floor right into the pool of coffee forming on the tiles.

"McGee, what the heck is going on? I thought you said you had something for us." Gibbs was staring at the two agents, standing like children who'd been found with their hands in the cookie jar. "Is someone going to talk?"

"Boss…I do have…let me show you." Tim picked up the flash drive, it was dripping wet and he wasn't sure it would be a good idea to plug it into a computer right now.

Gibbs pointed to the mess on Tim's desk. "Clear that up, then show me."

"It won't take a minute, I sent the file as an email attachment…I can get to it right now."

"Then do it."

Tony handed Tim some paper towels and he mopped up the coffee from his desk, then he switched on his computer, and waited for it to boot up; he used more paper towels to dry off his pants. When the computer was up and running he opened up his emails…no…no, this couldn't be…not now…

"McGee, is something wrong?" Ziva stood beside him, she'd noticed the faint sheen of sweat on his skin.

"I sent it…there was an attachment, it's here…it has to be."

Gibbs watched silently as Tim started hitting the keys frantically, he put his hand out to still the typing. "McGee, stop. Take a minute, go clean yourself up." He turned to the tall young agent hovering close by. "Dorneget, you just finished in cyber crimes?"

"Y…yes Agent Gibbs."

Gibbs pointed at Tim's computer. "Then take a look at that thing, see if you can find the missing file."

Tim stood up and moved aside so that Ned could take his seat, he wanted to see if the file was there and he'd simply missed it. Gibbs wasn't having that.

"Why are you still here? Go clean up."

Ned gave Tim an apologetic smile, Tim shrugged his shoulders and headed for the men's room. He emerged five minutes later to see Gibbs patting the back of Dorneget's head.

"Hey McGee, you'd better watch out, there a new geek in town!"

"It was no big deal Tony; I told you all the file was there." Tim's annoyance was only too clear, and Tony couldn't resist ragging him just a little.

"So how come you couldn't find it McSnarky?"

"Because you didn't give me time! Everyone's always in such a hurry round here; would it have hurt to give me five minutes?"

Gibbs ushered Dorneget away and turned to Tim. "Five minutes? Seems to me you've had a lot more than that lately Tim; we can't keep covering for you."

"Covering...you're not...I can do my job. I don't need some greener than green probationary agent messing with my computer."

"Last time I looked the computer belonged to NCIS; and if I think Probationary Agent Dorneget can get the job done, then I'll get him to do it. You go with Ziva, bring in Cox, Tony, you're with me."

NCIS NCIS

"McGee, we are all tired, you must not take what Gibbs said to heart."

They were on their way back to headquarters, their suspect safely handcuffed in the back of the sedan. Tim sat in the passenger seat; the familiar knot was forming in his gut as it had so many times recently. One step forward, two steps back felt like it was the story of his life right now.

"I really don't want to talk about it Ziva." He had seen the way she'd looked at him when Gibbs had paired then up for this task; he'd also seen the relief in Tony's face that it hadn't been him. They were starting to doubt that he would have their backs in the field, he could feel it, and it hurt.

"Perhaps that is exactly what you should do, talk with someone who can help."

"You think I need a shrink?" Tim was aghast, but his next comment was stilled by the sound of laughter from the back seat. He whipped his head round. "What's so funny?"

"You're like a poet man, think, shrink, get it?"

Tim thumped his hand on the dash in frustration; did everyone think his life was some kind of joke? Ziva reached out a hand to try and calm him, he looked so angry. Tim brushed her hand away and turned to look out of the window. "Keep your hands on the wheel Ziva, don't worry about me, just get us back to the Navy Yard in one piece."

NCIS NCIS

It was well after midnight and he was so tired, all he wanted to do was strip off his clothes and get under the covers, only that tactic hadn't been working so well for him lately. So Tim made himself an omelette, washed it down with a cup of herbal tea, took a hot shower and only then did he take two of the sedatives Ducky had prescribed. He switched off the alarm and got into bed.

They had all been surprised when Gibbs told them to go home and not come in tomorrow, no today, until 11.00. "We know Cox and Piolet are guilty, they knew it too, let them stew in the cells for the night, we can interview them when we're ready. I don't want you in here 'til you're rested and ready to do some intense interviews, clear?"

He looked at each of them in turn, but Tim felt like his eyes had lingered a little longer in his direction, as if the message was meant especially for him. Three tired responses showed Gibbs he was making the right decision and with a warning to them all to take care driving home, they'd gone their separate ways.

As he lay down and started some deep breathing exercises, Tim hoped he'd be able to get some sleep; he really didn't need to make any more mistakes next time he was at work. Not that he'd made a mistake with the Nash file, he knew it was in his email, problem was he couldn't explain why it wasn't there the first time he looked. If only Dorny hadn't spilled the coffee, if the thumb drive hadn't been wet he'd have been able to open the file immediately and no one would have been looking at him like he was an idiot. A rogue idea entered his head that was so bizarre he almost laughed aloud…but then the more he thought about it the more plausible it became,

Every time something had gone wrong for him Dorneget seemed to be around. After his stint in cyber crimes Ned had the technical ability to access Tim's computer, and his phone…the Porsche, it would have been easy for Dorneget to find out where Tim lived, and he already knew the car from seeing it in the NCIS parking lot…The connections were there, at least some connections…Tim could feel his pulse starting to race…he had to calm down, the priority was sleep, close the Nash case, and only then would he allow himself to spend time looking for more connections.

NCIS NCIS

The whole team had benefitted from their late start, Gibbs had been impressed with the way they handled themselves in interrogation, and now they were all doing the part of the job they least enjoyed, the written reports. Gibbs knew he wouldn't have to make many corrections, even Tony would be extra careful this time. Cox and Piolet had taken the life of a Marine Lieutenant because he'd been using what little leisure time he had to look into their management of the rent-controlled building in which his aunt lived. Nash had been convinced they were manufacturing problems with water systems, air conditioning, phone lines, anything that would encourage tenants to leave. When Nash took some of his evidence to them they'd killed him, beaten him to death, and dumped his body where they hoped no one would find it. Gibbs shook his head sadly as he typed, if Nash had come to NCIS, or even gone to the local LEOs with his evidence, he may still be alive today; but in true Marine fashion he took the fight to his enemy and unfortunately paid the ultimate price.

"Hey Tim." Tony had almost completed his report and was ready to lighten the mood a little. "If you want, you can email me a copy of your report, you know, in case it gets lost, or you could send one to Dorny, save him the effort of finding it on your computer."

Tim carried on working, sometimes with Tony the best thing to do was not rise to the bait, if he just ignored him maybe he'd get back to his own work.

"What do you think Ziva? Our Timmy's been careless lately, maybe he should copy us all in."

Ziva glanced over at Tim, she though she could detect a slight reddening of his cheeks, this was not the right time…"I think you should complete your own report Tony, and let the rest of us complete ours without further interruption."

"Jeez, you're all so serious, lighten up!"

Gibbs gave Tony one of his patent stares, and he got back to work before he felt the sting of a head slap. For the rest of the day they all worked steadily, checking details with each other, verifying everything in order to ensure the guilty men didn't have the opportunity to escape justice.

It was early evening when the reports were done to Gibbs' satisfaction, and as there was no new case he let them go, this time with the admonition that they were in by 07.30 the next morning. Tim took his time getting ready to go home, he wanted a quiet word with Dorneget before he left and he didn't want an audience.

"Agent McGee, my office, now!" Director Vance's voice boomed across the squad room.

Tim took off up the stairs as fast as he could, whatever Vance wanted, it didn't sound good. He followed the fast retreating heels of the Director, and had only just made it into the office when the door slammed behind him.

"So tell me McGee, what the hell is going on with you?" He thrust a memo in Tim's hand. "You see this? It's a letter of complaint from the District Attorney regarding your conduct in the Franklin case..."

"I...they got a guilty verdict, I saw it on the news."

"No thanks to you, from what I hear."

"I can explain, the email...I never..."

Vance put up his hand. "Don't...you misunderstand me Agent McGee, I don't want you to explain to me, you will send a written apology to the DA, and I want it done before you leave tonight."

Tim didn't know what to say, he felt like another hammer blow was raining down on him. "But..."

"I'm not done, you have a report to complete for me, and I want it on my desk by 08.00 tomorrow. The SecDef wants the full details of your visits to the NSA, with particular reference to the fact that you left one of his top cryptographers hanging because you'd forgotten an important court date. Now I'm done. You are free to go, but no further than the squad room, not until your work is complete."

Vance dismissed him with a wave of the hand and Tim trudged back down to the squad room, there was no sign of Dorneget, another opportunity missed. He settled back at his computer with a sigh and started typing; it looked like it was going to be another late night.

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


	8. Chapter 8

8

Tim hadn't had much sleep, which seemed to be much more the norm than he would like. He'd been so wound up over the work he had done for the Director, and his growing suspicions about Ned Dorneget that he'd tossed and turned for hours, even though he had taken his sleeping pills.

At 5am he'd given up all pretence of resting, he got out of bed and got ready for work. As far as he was concerned it wouldn't hurt to have a head start on the day, so he might as well get in well before the others, fewer questions would have to be answered that way. He'd logged on to his computer and was already checking all his settings when the others arrived. Tim breathed a sigh of relief that he'd take his report for Director Vance up to his office before he started his computer checks; the last thing he wanted was Tony trying to find out what the report was about. He would get the checks done, then start running some search programs, to see whether someone had been accessing his personal files; when that was done he'd try and get into his phone records…if only Abby was here, she'd help him with the searches, take on some of the burden.

He looked up as Gibbs halted in front of his desk. "How long have you been here?"

"Not long, I…I had some stuff to finish." Tim didn't want to explain further, he already knew the team were having doubts about his ability to cope with the pressures of the job. Until he could show them some evidence that would convince them of Dorneget's involvement, he would keep his own counsel. He started typing again, it was high time he took his searches to the next level and found something that would show them he wasn't losing it.

It was a good plan, problem was the world didn't always go along with the plans you made. For Tim and the rest of NCIS the next few days passed in a blur of action, exhaustion, tension, and on occasion a touch of fear. Tim had just opened up a new file when the squad room burst into noise and motion.

Washington DC had been placed at Threat Level Orange and every Armed Federal Agency was on high alert. From the minute the alert was announced they had been on a constant treadmill of warrants, searches, endless interviews that led to dead end after dead end. Tim had spent some of the time in MTAC, liaising with other agencies, working through byte after byte of data, his eyes were sore, his neck ached, but he kept on working; he knew he wasn't alone in feeling exhausted. No one went home, they snatched what sleep they could, resting on chairs, on the futon in Abby's lab, camp beds in the conference room; they grabbed coffee, sodas, snacks, anything they could to help them stay alert.

Eventually they were able to narrow down their search and a number of raids took place throughout the District. They were up against well-armed, well-disciplined terrorists, but given their superior intel and training the Federal Agencies were able to prevail. A large number of arrests were made, and they found bomb-making equipment and weapons in quantities that would keep ATF busy for weeks to come.

It was with a mixture of relief and exhaustion that they sat at their desks following the successful raids.

"So much for the holiday weekend."

Tim stifled a yawn. "What did you say Tony?"

"Today is Labor Day, we missed the holiday."

"Never thought about it…"

Gibbs walked down the stairs and scanned the tired faces of the men and women in the squad room. "Director Vance wants us in tomorrow to file our reports, after that we all get a day off. You've done great work people, now get out of here, go see your families, sleep in your own beds."

Slowly, almost as if they didn't quite believe they were being allowed home, people started to switch off computers and gather up their belongings. Tim spotted Dorneget and decided to take the opportunity to have a quiet word; he hurried over to Ned's desk.

"Ned, I…things have been happening, have you…do you have a problem with me?" Tim's voice was barely above a whisper, he didn't want to draw attention to this particular conversation. So many people were on the edge of exhaustion, tempers could easily be frayed and he didn't want to cause a stir.

"Problem? I don't have a problem, what do you mean?" Dorneget got to his feet, his voice rising a few decibels louder.

Tim sighed, this was exactly what he wanted to avoid, already he could see heads turning their way. "No need to shout. I just want to know; have you been messing with my stuff, my phone, the computer on my desk?"

"How could you accuse me of something like that? What have I ever done to you?" Ned was really shouting now, and Tim could feel everyone's eyes and ears on them.

"That's exactly what I'm trying to find out Ned."

A piercing whistle echoed round the squad room. Gibbs was striding toward Tim and Ned. "Whatever this is about, put a lid on it. We're all running on fumes; come on Tim, you need to go home, we all do."

"Bu…"

"Enough! You heard what I said, now calm down, and get out of here. Everything will look better after some rest."

NCIS NCIS

Gibbs had stayed at Tim's shoulder until he'd packed up and left for the day. Another virtually sleepless night had seen Tim at his desk for 06.30 working on his reports. Over the course of the next hour or so the squad room had filled with bleary-eyed agents, eager to get their reports filed so that they could go home and sleep for as long as they liked.

"McGee, are you sleeping at all?" Ziva had been checking a couple of details with him, and she couldn't go back to her desk without asking.

"Some…I…I have a lot on my mind."

She leaned against his desk and lifted his chin. "I am listening…"

He shook his head and got back to work. "Not now Ziva, we have too much to do, maybe when I've had time to get everything straight in my own mind."

"Dorneget?"

"I said I don't want to talk right now. You all think I'm making stupid mistakes, letting everyone down…I just…I have to concentrate, get this done." He turned back to his monitor and started typing.

As Ziva walked slowly back to her desk she glanced at Tony and shrugged her shoulders, there was nothing they could do today, but when things calmed down, they would get to the bottom of what was eating their friend.

True to his word Vance let everyone go as soon as their reports were done, and much as he would have liked to stay at his desk and continue the checks on his computer Tim saw the way Gibbs was watching him, and he knew he had no option but to go home.

When he got back to his apartment, Tim had forced himself to eat something; he felt so tired he was pretty sure he didn't need any medication to help him sleep, but he decided to err on the side of caution and took his pills. He lay down with the comforting thought that tomorrow he could take a day off, maybe once he was properly rested he could make some sense of all the weird things that had been happening to him. For the first time in days he was able to fall into a deep, dreamless sleep.

NCIS NCIS

Tim could hear a noise, but he sure didn't want to acknowledge it, he came to slowly, his body protesting at the sudden end to his much needed rest. He reached over and picked up his phone; if this was another attempt to get him on Gibbs' wrong side…

"McGee, you awake?"

"Tony, what time…? 5.15, this had better be good."

"How about a major incident at the Naval Research Laboratory?"

Tim was already out of bed, and moving toward his closet. "Are we going right there?"

"Boss says we have time for a quick shower, then he wants us at NCIS asap. Sorry you didn't get to catch up on your sleep."

"Neither did you Tony, that's the job we signed up for I guess. See you later."

NCIS NCIS

They'd all but done documenting the scene, they were still not sure whether it was a crime scene, or a tragic accident had taken place. What they did know was that four naval personnel lay dead on the floor of their lab. No obvious signs of foul play, which made the careful documentation of the crime scene even more important than usual. The lab complex was vast, and Gibbs had called for another team to help them; Tim had groaned when he saw it was Sue Maulin and her team. Until he was sure what was going on with Dorneget, Tim had no desire to be any closer to the young agent that was absolutely necessary. But the way events in his life seemed to be conspiring against him, he wasn't likely to catch a lucky break.

He tried to stay as far away from Dorneget as he could, and keep his focus on the work. Tim took pictures from every angle, made sure he had background and establishing shots as well as close-ups; then he helped Ziva with the measurements before Ducky and Jimmy prepared the bodies for transport.

There were a number of witnesses to interview, and files to be downloaded before they left the facility, and it was late afternoon by the time they were back at their desks. Gibbs got Tony to order in pizza and Tim was sent on a quick coffee run. "Need fuel for the tank McGee, if you get much thinner you're going to disappear."

"Guess we all need to get back to eating proper meals, and drinking less of this." Tim handed out the coffee and quickly grabbed a slice of pizza, "Mmm, this is good."

"Hunger is the best sauce they say, and I was very hungry. If Gibbs does not hurry, there will be nothing left." Ziva stared at Tony and he gave her the look of innocence he must have perfected at prep school.

"For you information Agent David, I have already put two slices on his desk. Hey Tim, you okay over there?"

Tim's palms were already damp, and he could feel the sweat starting to run down his back, this could not be true, not this…"Did either of you take the memory card out of the camera?"

"No…why would we do that? We've got plenty of work to do." Tony put down his coffee and hurried over to Tim's desk; he put a steadying hand on his arm. "What's wrong?"

Tim took a deep, shaky breath and reached for his back pack. "It has to be here somewhere…I checked it before we left, I always check."

Tony grabbed the back pack. "Tim, look at me, is it the memory card?" Tim nodded briefly. "Okay, you say you checked, so it has to be here. Take a deep breath and we'll look for it together, okay?"

"Tony, you have to believe me, the card was in the camera."

Ziva joined them and Tony started emptying the back pack, they were engrossed in their task and didn't notice Gibbs' stealthy approach.

"Where are my pictures McGee? Ducky won't have anything for hours, I need somewhere to start."

Tim started down at his hands; he didn't want to see the look in Gibbs' eyes when he admitted he couldn't find the card.

"We're looking Boss, Tim…"

"It's okay Tony, you don't have to cover for me, I'll tell him." Tim raised his head and looked his boss in the eye. "The memory card, with all the pictures…it's gone."

"McGee! You know how important those pictures are to the investigation."

"Do you think I'm stupid? Of course I know; it's why I always…" Tim's voice tailed off, Gibbs wasn't even listening to him any more. Instead Gibbs was looking across the squad room toward Sue Maulin's team.

"Dorneget; you took pictures this morning?"

"Yes Agent Gibbs, I…they're on my computer."

"Good, then send them to McG…to Agent David, seems like we have a problem with ours."

Tim didn't need to look at Gibbs to know he was getting a good hard stare. Instead, he watched Dorneget closely; he could swear there was a hint of a smile on Ned's face as he started typing in Ziva's email address. Tim glanced round, but the others were already back at work and they hadn't seen Dorneget's face. He scraped his hand through his hair, it felt like his world was falling apart, slowly and tortuously…but with every hour that passed he was more convinced that Ned Dorneget was behind everything that was happening to him,

The air seemed to be crackling with tension, and as he started to file the warrants for their victim's phone and financial records Tim could imagine everyone waiting for him to make his next mistake. He took a long gulp of his coffee and squared his shoulders. High time he stopped feeling sorry for himself and got on with his job. The last few days had been tough on everyone; when things calmed down he'd take some time to get his head around what was happening in his own life. Right now there were four navy scientists who deserved his undivided attention.


	9. Chapter 9

7

**[b]Chapter Nine[/b]**

Tim was starting to think it was a waste of time paying rent on an apartment, he spent so little time in the place he called home, it might just as well be a hotel room. Along with the rest of the team he'd gone home to grab a few hours sleep in a proper bed. He was feeling a little better as he started in on the second day of their investigation. After the problems with the pictures yesterday, Tim had been able to make some meaningful contributions to the case; Ducky's autopsies and the tox results had proved that the three men and one woman had been poisoned. So far they hadn't been able to come up with a motive, either for murder or some kind of bizarre suicide pact.

"Hey Boss, I think there could be something here, Mike Chang, he had a lock-up in Anacostia, tried pretty hard to hide it too."

Gibbs looked over Tim's shoulder at the location grid on the screen. "Good work, get a search warrant."

"Already on it Boss; should have it any time now."

Gibbs glanced at the empty chairs in the squad room, Ziva and Tony were already out interviewing more family members, he was due in MTAC in five minutes for a video conference with Rachel Morgan's commanding officer. "Tim, when the warrant comes through, take Dorneget and go search the lock-up."

Tim leapt to his feet. "No Boss, I don't need a babysitter, I'm okay to do this." The idea of spending time alone with Dorneget made Tim feel sick to his stomach.

"You're not at the top of your game McGee; we can't afford any screw-ups on this case."

"I won't…"

Gibbs patted Tim on the shoulder. "Can't take the chance Tim, take Dorneget, that's an order."

NCIS NCIS

They were almost at the lock-up when Tim finally spoke. "Ned, the camera yesterday, did you take the card?"

"Not again McGee! I thought you were done with your crazy idea."

"I don't think it's so crazy, simple question; did you take the card?"

Dorneget looked at Tim, his expression a mixture of sadness and disappointment. "Why are you trying to make me look bad in front of everyone?"

Tim was taken aback by the question. "Me! You're the blue-eyes boy right now, I'm the one they all think is incompetent…Ned, we've always worked together okay, what's changed?"

"You have, all this…it's just irrational, can't you see? Why would I be doing what you say I'm doing, what do I have to gain? I think you should drop it and let us get on with the job."

They drove the rest of the way in silence, and the quiet continued as they bagged and tagged the meagre contents of the lock-up and dusted for prints. All they had to show for their efforts were a few empty pill bottles, two vials containing a colourless liquid and a laptop. With the evidence safely stowed away the two agents secured the lock-up and headed back to NCIS. All the way back Tim had a nagging feeling that there was something he should be able to remember, something Dorneget had said…but however hard he tried he couldn't recall…too much going on, get this case out of the way and he'd be able to concentrate on Dorny, so long as they didn't get another case.

NCIS NCIS

On their return Dorneget took the evidence bags to the lab and Tim took the laptop to his desk. Had Abby been there, he'd have worked on it in the lab, but he didn't feel comfortable down there with her temporary replacement. Gil Dempsey was a perfectly competent scientist, and if asked Tim wouldn't be able to say why he felt the way he did. Tim smiled reflectively as he sliced open the seal on the laptop; maybe it was just that the lab didn't seem right without Abby.

He put on his gloves and lifted the computer onto the plastic sheet he'd laid on the desk. Tim switched it on and reached into his drawer for a thumb drive, ready to capture any file that may assist in the investigation. He'd been working for a few minutes when Ziva and Tony arrived; he could tell things hadn't gone well by the way their bags were thrown on the floor.

"Man, when this case is over I don't care what Gibbs says, I'm going to sleep for a week. Ow! Hey Boss, anything from Morgan's CO?"

"She'd been having some problems with an ex-boyfriend, but he was killed in Afghanistan three weeks ago, so no Tony, I don't have anything. McGee, what did you get?"

"Not much, Dorneget took a couple of things down to the lab, I've just started on Chang's computer, there are a couple of files that look a little…hinky."

Gibbs nodded and left Tim to work, he turned to his other agents. "You two, did you finish calling all the names in the contact lists?"

"Not all of them Gibbs, we…" Ziva broke off as she gave in to the overwhelming urge to yawn. "Forgive me, I think more coffee is required, and then we will continue with the calls."

"I'll get the coffee, could use some fresh air myself."

Gibbs was back within ten minutes with four much-needed cups of hot, strong brew. As he handed them to his team he promised himself that as soon as they were done with this case he would ask Vance to give them two days off, they couldn't go on working at this pace much longer.

"We hear anything from Dempsey?"

Tim stopped typing for a second. "No, it's only been forty minutes; don't suppose he'll have anything yet."

"I'll see." Gibbs picked up his phone and called the lab. Tim re-focussed on his keyboard and didn't pay attention to the call until Gibbs' voice got louder.

"What do you mean, you don't have the evidence? It was delivered to you forty minutes ago. McGee! Did you get Dempsey to sign for the evidence when you took it to the lab?"

Tim sat open-mouthed; the evidence…surely not even Dorneget would stoop so low. "I…I didn't take it Boss, I came right here to work on the laptop. Dorneget took the evidence."

"It's your name on the evidence log, so where is it?"

"I told you, Dorneget took it, here he is. Tell him Ned, you took the samples."

Dorneget looked surprised. "You told me to gas the sedan in case we get called out again. Tim, I know you're really under pressure right now; but you took them."

"That's a lie! You took…I wanted to start work on the laptop, you…"

"Tim…" Dorneget moved beside Tim and was about to put his arm round his shoulder when Tim pushed him away.

"Don't touch me! Boss…this time you have to listen, he…I don't know why, but he's been screwing with my life for weeks…the phone, the car…"

"Oh come on Tim, that's not possible. Why would Dorny hurt such a beautiful car?" Tony was taking a step or two closer to Tim's desk, this situation looked like it could get out of hand real fast. He couldn't remember the last time he'd seen Tim so angry.

Tim slammed his desk. "You're not listening to me! The car was just a part of it…Boss, the phone call…when I thought you'd called me…he could do that, he knows how…"

"Wow! Time out…Tim, this is Dorny you're talking about, he can hardly stay on his own two feet most of the time, let alone come up with…whatever it is you say he's doing."

"That's just where you're wrong Tony, he knows more than you think, and he knows how to keep a secret, he's gay, did you know that? No, of course you didn't because he doesn't want you to know…he can hide things, you must see…"

Gibbs gestured to them all to move away from Tim's desk, he blamed himself for this, he should have seen just how close Tim was to the edge. "Tim, sit down and calm down."

Tim slumped into his chair and looked up at Gibbs. "I'm not crazy Boss, he…he's trying to make me look bad, heck, what do I mean trying…he is making me look bad. You know me, I wouldn't lie about this, and I wouldn't lose evidence…"

"When you're feeling okay that's true, but look at yourself, you're not sleeping, I'm guessing you haven't eaten a proper meal since we left you your supplies. I know we've been slammed Tim, but you can't neglect your health, I think it would be best if you went home…"

"No! I'm tired, I can't deny it…but so are you; Tony and Ziva too…let me work on the laptop, I'm close to something, I know it."

"Agent Gibbs."

"What is it Dorneget? Don't you have work to do?"

"Y…yes…but, maybe…I saw Tim put the evidence in his back pack, if it's not in the lab…"

Before even Gibbs could stop him Tim was one pace from Dorneget with his fist raised, his face a mask of rage. Gibbs and Tony pulled him away and Gibbs ordered Dorneget to his desk.

"Tim! Damn it, are you asking for a suspension? I told you to calm down."

"How can I when he's lying through his teeth? I never put anything in my bag. Here, if you don't believe me, take a look." With trembling hands Tim picked up his back pack and thrust it at Gibbs. "Go ahead, there's nothing in there."

Gibbs opened the flap on top of the bag, glanced inside and reached in. Tim knew what was coming before he saw the plastic evidence bag. He took a step back, and looked at the faces of his three team mates, they didn't believe him…after all they'd been through together they believed that he would be so negligent with vital evidence.

"B…Boss…he…I didn't…"

"I don't have time for this McGee, Tony, get this downstairs." Gibbs handed the evidence bags to Tony and pointed to the laptop on Tim's desk. "I'm giving you one hour to find something on there, or I'll get someone in who can do the job."

Tim did his best to block out the faces in the squad room, he'd seen them all watching when he went for Dorneget; how could he have been so stupid, he'd played right into Dorneget's hands. Every time he tried to get anyone to listen all he succeeded in doing was dig himself into a deeper hole, making everyone who worked here more convinced that he was incapable of doing his job. He could work, if they'd just give him time, and maybe give him the benefit of the doubt; he simply couldn't understand why they'd all believe Dorneget and not him.

It was just five minutes from the end of Gibbs' deadline when Tim knew he'd found something. "Boss, there are emails here." Tim clicked the remote and displayed the messages on the plasma. "See; Chang and the others…it's drugs Boss, only they weren't dealing, they were trying to come up with a new drug."

"I'm guessing they weren't looking for a cure for cancer."

"About as far away as you can get; all the online communication is about a drug that gives the highest high with no side effects."

Tony and Ziva read through some of the messages, Tony gave a low whistle. "If they perfected this, they'd make a fortune. So how come they're all dead?"

Tim clicked again. "The formula they were working on, looks like they were trying it out on themselves. Dempsey will be able to tell us more when…when the lab results are done."

"They did this to themselves?" Ziva shook her head in disbelief, the ways in which human beings behaved never ceased to amaze her.

"Sure looks like it."

Gibbs walked over to Tim's desk and picked up his back pack. "That's good work Tim, now go home."

"But…the case, we're not finished, the lab work, reports…"

"The lab results are out of our hands, and your report can wait."

"I don't…I don't want special treatment Boss, we're all tired, I'll go home when you do."

"Soon as our preliminary reports are done we'll be going home too. Don't argue McGee, and don't forget we all have the day off tomorrow. Take the time, shake off whatever it is that's bugging you; go."

NCIS NCIS

Tim had done as he was told, and he was honest enough to admit, if only to himself, that Gibbs had been right to send him home, after giving his findings to the rest of the team he'd felt emotionally drained. He knew he'd done good work and Gibbs had told him so, but that couldn't erase the memory of the way they'd all looked at him when he tried to tell them about Dorneget.

Tim had called in at a diner on the way home and forced himself to eat a burger and fries, he didn't feel like cooking and he had to eat, so eating out was the best option. By the time he got home he was having trouble staying awake, so after a quick shower he went right to bed and for six blissful hours he slept, all thoughts of what had been happening in his life erased by the healing balm of sleep.

When Tim woke it was still dark, but he was feeling more alert than he had for days, and he knew what he wanted to do.

After a quick breakfast Tim sat at his computer and started documenting exactly what had been happening …everything seemed to start going wrong after his concussion, he knew that wasn't the cause but it was as good a place to start as any, he typed the date of the Aherne arrest…was it really only three weeks ago, seemed longer…

Tim sat back and looked at the list on screen, seeing everything laid out like that convinced him that he was on the right track. For whatever twisted reason, Ned Dorneget had decided to use the skills he'd learned during his time at NCIS to discredit a fellow agent. He'd been clever too, making other people think he was the victim, accusing Tim of having it in for him…

Tim scanned the list again, aside from the vandalism to his car, everything else on the list could only have been done by someone who worked at NCIS, and who had the technical ability to get into his phone and his emails. Even the missing car keys that had turned up the next day, they had to have been hidden by someone with access to the squad room, and the sleeping pills his doctor had originally prescribed, Tim had thought at the time that maybe he'd dropped them somewhere, but now, seeing that incident as part of a pattern; it was much more likely they were taken. It would have been to Dorneget's advantage to have Tim in a state of exhaustion, more likely to make real mistakes like leaving his phone on his desk when they went out to a crime scene…oh yes, he'd been clever all right, but Tim was pretty smart too, and he had an idea.

When Dorneget took the keys, and the pills he must have done it when there weren't many people in the squad room, he certainly wouldn't want a witness, but there was a witness…always watching, silently recording events…the security cameras. If he could get pictures, he could show them, he'd be able to prove once and for all that he was not imagining all this.

He switched off his computer, grabbed his jacket and keys and headed for the door. Gibbs had said they'd all been given a day off, so he wouldn't have to face them and their expressions of doubt. He could work in peace and when he was done they'd all know with as much certainty as he did; he hadn't been making mistakes or putting the reputation of NCIS at risk, that was all on Ned Dorneget.

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


	10. Chapter 10

6

**Chapter Ten**

It had been a good plan, and when Tim sat at his desk he was full of renewed optimism that he'd be able to clear his name. He knew he was taking a risk accessing the security camera footage; as a rule only MTAC technicians were allowed access, but it was vital that he found the pictures, so he'd set aside his misgivings and hacked into the security files. He should have known things were not going to work out for him, not the way his luck had been going; sure enough he hadn't even opened the first file when a member of the security staff was standing at his desk.

"You need to stop what you're doing and follow me Agent McGee."

Tim didn't protest, what was the point, no one round here believed a word he said these days…

Turned out that had been pretty much the highlight of his day, because it had gone downhill real fast. His first surprise had come when the guard led him, not to MTAC, but to the Director's office.

After ten minutes in there Tim was in no doubt that he had made a colossal mistake. Director Vance was still smarting from having to apologise to the Director of the DoD, and Tim's standing seemed to have plummeted to rock bottom.

"What the hell were you thinking McGee, were you even thinking? Those records are confidential; you think everyone wants you watching their every move? We monitor and record for internal purposes only, in case we get a complaint, or there is real danger to the agency. Just because you've been having a rough time lately doesn't give you the right to invade your fellow agent's privacy…I'm disappointed in you, I thought you'd have the guts to own up to your own mistakes, not look for some green agent to be your scapegoat."

"That's not what happened, I didn't even think about Dorneget until it became obvious to anyone with half a brain he was behind all this, why can't you see what's right in front of you?"

"Don't take that tone with me Agent McGee. I'm going to get to the bottom of this, and right now is as good a time as any. I want you to wait in the conference room and I'll call your team in, if what you say is true, they must have seen something."

"No! Please…they're all exhausted, we've been working so…let them have their day, we can talk some other time…"

Vance shook his head and reached for his phone. "Not your decision to make; now do as I say and go wait, I'll call you when I'm ready."

Tim had waited and with every minute that passed he'd become more and more tense, there was a pain starting in his head that he knew wasn't going away, his gut was tightening and he was already sweating even before Gibbs and the others had arrived. When they did, his day went from bad to worse.

NCIS NCIS

"I've spoken to your team Agent McGee, it seems not one of them can recall seeing Agent Dorneget do anything other than help you out when you made a mistake, oh, and commit the terrible sin of bringing you coffee and doughnuts."

Tim looked at each of his colleagues in turn, these people were closer to him than anyone, aside from Abby no one knew him better than they did, and still they could sit here and accuse him of lying…not in so many words of course, not one of them had come out and called him a liar, but he could see it in the way they wouldn't meet his eye; they didn't believe him, they believed Dorneget.

He pressed his fingers against his temples; the headache was raging now, the physical pain a mirror for the mental anguish he was feeling. "How can you not see? If you'd just look at the security cameras…you'd see him."

"McGee, maybe you should see a doctor, I know you said that bang on the head you had hasn't caused this, but…"

"Is that it? All this time you've all decided McGee got a concussion and he can't deal with it, one single bump on the head and you think I'd lose it. Is that what happens to you Boss, or Tony…seems to me you've all worked on when you shouldn't…I was good to work, am good to work…it's not about me, you have to stop Dorneget. He's after my job, I know he is!"

Vance reached for a folder. "Probationary Agent Dorneget? You're seriously trying to tell me he's masterminding some dastardly plot to get you off Gibbs' team. Have you stopped to really think how unlikely that is? I heard about your outburst, you almost came to blows with a fellow agent, right in the middle of the squad room, I have a detailed report here, you have made a number of errors recently, some of which could have cost this agency dear. You're on the Major Case Team of a Federal Agency McGee; you're not playing around in the schoolyard."

"I'm not playing! This is deadly serious…deadly…oh my…" In a blinding flash it was there, the thing Dorneget had said that had been eluding him for days.

"Tim, are you okay?" Tony reached out a comforting hand, but Tim pulled away from him.

"No…no I'm not…look at you, sitting there in judgement, not one of you prepared to look at me and listen to what I have to say. You take the word of a man you hardly know over a man who's been part of your lives for seven years."

"You must see this from our perspective McGee, you have been…since your injury, your behaviour has been…erratic."

"Erratic! You try living a normal life when someone is after your job, when they want it so bad they'll do anything…you know what he said, I only just remembered, don't know how I could forget; he told Abby and me, he said he'd kill to be on Gibbs' team."

"Whoa Tim, stop right there, you're blowing this all out of…"

"Don't you dare Gibbs! Do not say I'm imagining this, blowing it out of proportion! He has invaded my personal space, more than once, he took my sleeping pills…didn't know that, did you? Before Ducky gave me a prescription I'd been to my own doctor…" Tim could hear the tremor in his own voice, he was close to tears, and he'd be hard-pressed to say whether they were tears of anger or sorrow…

"Agent McGee, I have to agree with Agent Gibbs, you should see a doctor, and fast…now, we have to deal with your conduct, particularly today's transgression. I can't allow things to continue as they are; Gibbs do you agree?"

Gibbs looked at Tim, he really did look like he was losing it, wild eyes, clothing dishevelled, he certainly wasn't functioning the way he should, way too many things had been going wrong, and everything led back to Tim. Yet all he could come up with was this crazy idea that Dorneget was out to get him. Reluctantly Gibbs nodded, he knew what was coming, and he knew Vance had no option, and in a strange way, maybe a few days away from work would be good for Tim.

"Agent McGee…I hate to do this, but after what you did today…" Vance held out his hand. "I need your badge and gun."

Tim wasn't sure he was hearing right. "What…you're firing me?"

Gibbs was quick to reassure him. "No, a suspension, seven days without pay…Tim, listen to me, you need to see someone, this…delusion, it's getting out of control, if you don't stop you're going to lose everything you've worked for."

Tim held his breath, this had to be it, this was the point where Tony and Ziva would stand up and be counted, they'd tell Vance he was wrong, that Tim would never…but they didn't. They sat like statues staring down at the floor. He took out his gun and reached into his pocket for his badge. "I thought what we had…I thought it meant something, we were a team…" He turned and walked slowly toward the door.

"McGee, do not leave like this, you are not well, let me drive you home."

"No Ziva, I'm good, have to get used to doing things alone…you know, the only thing I did wrong in all this was forget my phone one time, everything else was Dorneget." They did look at him this time and he saw the doubt on every face, it was like a knife in his gut. "I know what I know, you've all decided something different, if that's the way you want it, I'm done."

Without another word, and without waiting to see if anyone was following him, Tim hurried down the stairs and got out of the Navy Yard as fast as he could.

NCIS NCIS

Tim hadn't cried, he thought he would, when he got home and locked his door, he thought the tears must come, but they didn't…instead he felt hollow, there was nothing. His life had been torn apart and he didn't know what to do, where to go…that was it, he had to go somewhere, away from here, away from them. He knew they'd come calling, DiNozzo wouldn't be able to resist trying to fix things…only sometimes things were broken beyond repair.

He switched off his phone, put the deadbolt on his door and thought about his next move…seven days before he had to go back there and find out what Vance had in store for him. Abby wasn't due back until Monday, and she was the only one he wanted to talk to, he wouldn't call her while she was on vacation, things were going really well for her and her brother, Tim didn't want to spoil things for her. So what could he do? He was too tired to drive anywhere and the thought of queuing up at an airport…no, he wasn't flying anywhere. Didn't leave many options. But there was something, he could take the train, something he hadn't done in years, probably since his college days. Where to go? New York, there was always lots to do in New York.

NCIS NCIS

Tim had managed a few hours sleep, regardless of his mental anguish, his body was completely worn out, and although he didn't exactly feel rested the next morning, at least he didn't feel exhausted either.

As the cab got closer to Union Station, Tim was surer than he had been yesterday that taking the train was a good idea. Someone else doing the driving, from city centre to city centre, yes the train did sound great, he could even get some shut-eye if he managed to relax, he'd been wound so tight…

He strode across the grand entrance hall and headed for the Center Café,

it had been a last minute decision to have breakfast in the Café, but it was a good one. As he worked his way through a large breakfast Tim felt a little of the tension leave his shoulders, maybe this was what he needed, a few days away, time on his own to get his head together.

He took his time over his breakfast, had two cups of coffee, took a look at the paper, anything to stop thinking about the mess his life had become, he'd try to put that aside for a few days, whatever was waiting for him when he got back, he'd deal with, and maybe a few days R&R would give him renewed strength to show them how wrong they were. Tim checked his watch, time to get moving, didn't want to miss his train and have to spend a minute longer in DC.

He settled the cheque, picked up his bag and started to make his way across the concourse. The station was busy, lots of people picking up tour bus tickets as well as those heading for the trains. Tim was focussed on getting to the correct platform and was surprised when he saw the dishevelled young man lurching toward him, looked like a junkie in need of a fix…no wait, of all people he knew better than to take things at face value, maybe the kid was diabetic and was low on insulin. "You okay? You look…"

He saw the flash of metal and on instinct reached for his gun, a gun that wasn't there…he swung his bag and made some contact with his assailant; for a second he though he'd beaten off the danger, but his leg erupted with heat, then pain, how…he dropped his bag and fell to his knees. He heard voices shouting for help…felt someone holding him down, telling him he was going to be okay…how was that possible, his leg…there was blood, lots of blood, how could he be okay?

NCIS NCIS

"Then you can tell them the same thing you told them yesterday, I don't want to see them today, or any day."

"If you're sure."

"Oh yeah…certain…" Tim turned away from the nurse and stared at the TV. He'd been lucky; the knife wound had been superficial, lots of blood, but no significant muscle damage, the doctor was optimistic that he'd be discharged later today.

Tim sighed…when things went bad for him, they really went bad. Metro Police had told him the young man was a known junkie, always searching for funds for his next fix, happiest in crowds, subways stations, shopping malls, train stations…talk about wrong place, wrong time. Gibbs and the others had tried to visit, but he wouldn't…couldn't see them, too many things had been said, and from Tim's perspective not said. Why would they bother with him now just because he was hurt? He had needed their support when Vance took his badge, and he hadn't received it…no, it was better this way, only had to rely on himself, not likely to get disappointed again.

It was late afternoon when the doctor agreed to discharge him. "You're sure you have someone at home who can help you, you're not likely to be fully mobile for a few days."

"Yeah, my friend comes back from vacation today; I know she'll come when I call."

"I'm not sure; I'd prefer if you stayed one more night…or what about those people who've been calling?"

"No! No…they're busy at work, I'll be fine when Abby gets home. She…she's going to pick me up and take me back to my apartment." Tim hoped he wasn't blushing, he knew he was a terrible liar, Abby wouldn't be back in time to take him home, but he didn't want to stay here a minute longer than he had to, he could take a cab and call Abby when he got to his apartment.

Thankfully, the doctor had believed him, he'd signed the papers and Tim had dressed for the outside world. At least he had a change of clothes in the bag he'd been taking to New York, wouldn't want to be waiting for a cab in the pants he'd been wearing when he was attacked.

Washington Hospital Center was a busy hospital, and Tim knew he wouldn't have to wait long for a cab, sure enough within two minutes of his being wheeled to the main entrance, a cab pulled up. He limped to the cab and slumped down in the back seat, even after just a few steps his leg had started throbbing, maybe he should have stayed one extra night…

The cab pulled away before Tim had given the driver his address, and through the fog of painkillers and exhaustion Tim slowly became aware that something was wrong, he wasn't alone on the back seat of the cab…

"Don't get excited McGee, you'll tear your stitches. Sit back and relax, enjoy the ride."

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


	11. Chapter 11

6

**Chapter Eleven**

Ducky leaned forward, alert to the slight movement from the man on the hospital bed. Was he really awake at last? The eyelids fluttered open and a pair of green eyes looked around, trying to make sense of the new surroundings. He looked anxious and stared at Ducky with a look of total confusion. Ducky's first thought was to comfort him, and to stop him causing further damage. "Timothy, steady…you're safe now."

He was pleased beyond words to see Tim awake, they had been waiting so long…but he didn't want him to hurt himself further by pulling any stitches, he smiled as Tim lay back on the pillows. "Good lad, it is wonderful to have you back, we were so worried about you."

Ducky held on to Tim's outstretched hand and leaned closer as he tried to speak. "P…please…What happened to me?"

"Oh my dear boy…where to start? You are in hospital, you were found four days ago."

"Found…?"

"Do you remember anything?" Ducky didn't want to push Tim, for now it was enough that he was back with them.

"Shouting…they didn't…believe…can't…all mixed-up...Ducky…why can't I remember?" Tim was becoming increasingly agitated, Ducky held on a little tighter.

"I'm here Timothy, you're safe, that's all you have to remember for now, don't worry about a thing, you're safe…"

Tim started to settle back on his pillows, but suddenly his eyes opened wide. "He came for me...couldn't stop him...too weak..." Tim tried to focus on Ducky, to try and remember why he felt so scared.

Ducky brushed his hand across Tim's forehead; it was a little cooler at last. "Not weak Timothy, never think that, not for one minute, a weak man could never have done what you did."

Tim's eyelids flickered a few times, then he gave up the struggle and let the drugs pull him back to oblivion.

"Good lad, you sleep, heaven knows you deserve some rest." Ducky sat down and offered up a silent prayer. One hurdle cleared; he was awake, a small step it was true, but after four days watching him fight the infection that had ravaged his body it was cause for thanksgiving.

NCIS NCIS

Their lives had been turned upside-down the minute Abby returned from her vacation and called Gibbs asking why Tim wasn't answering his phone. Gibbs had called the hospital immediately and on learning that Tim had been discharged he'd sent Ziva to check his apartment. Gibbs had tried to explain to a highly emotional Abby why she hadn't been told about Tim's injury, and why none of them had been to visit him in the hospital, even to his own ears it sounded lame.

"He didn't want us there Abs."

"Of course he wanted you, who wants to be alone when they're hurting? Wait...what did you do? If Tim said that, you must have done something, Tony was it you?"

Tony hadn't been able to look her in the eye. "Maybe...yeah I guess."

"Wasn't just Tony; Abs let's find Tim, then I'll explain everything." Gibbs tried to give her a hug, but Abby pulled away.

"Then start looking!"

They had put out a BOLO and then headed to the hospital. They'd found an orderly who had seen Tim waiting outside. "He was right here, I asked him if he wanted to wait inside, I could call him a cab, but he said he wanted to clear his head...is he okay Agent Gibbs? He didn't look so good."

"Did you see him get into a cab?"

"No, I was already running late...I should have waited."

"You did what you could Mr Wilton, I appreciate you trying to help." Gibbs watched Wilton go back into the hospital. "Tony..."

"Security cameras, on it Boss."

There wasn't a sound in Abby's lab as they watched the security camera pictures, Abby had pinpointed the time frame and they were all staring unblinking at the screen as Tim limped toward the cab. The cab pulled away and within seconds it was lost to their sight.

"Can you get the licence plate Abs?"

"Sure." Abby zoomed in and Tony made a note of the number and the cab company, and got on his phone right away to put out a BOLO.

Ziva was still staring at the screen "Abby, could you run the film again, just after McGee got in the cab?"

"You see something Ziva?"

"I think so Gibbs, do you see...right there?"

Abby slowed the film down and on second viewing they all saw it, the back door of the cab opened a little and then slammed shut.

"He tried to get out...Boss..."

"I see it Tony, Abby..."

"Zooming in now." Abby tried every way she knew, but all she could get for them was a dark shape in the seat beside Tim.

The next hours passed in a whirl of activity as they accessed the traffic camera footage from the roads surrounding the hospital. Gibbs sent Tony to collect Tim's computer, if he had decided to go away with someone willingly, unlikely as that seemed, there might be something on there that could lead them to him.

Director Vance had needed just one look at the pictures of Tim leaving the hospital to offer Gibbs as many agents as he needed to help in the search. They had all been put to work watching the traffic camera feeds, it wasn't easy, the streets around the hospital were full of cabs, many with similar livery to the one in which Tim was travelling.

Gibbs exited the elevator; a tray of coffee cups in his hand; they all had to be alert, he didn't want to take the chance that someone might miss a sighting. The squad room was almost full, Tony had recently returned from handing Tim's computer over to Abby, and was now back at his desk, focussed like everyone else on finding their fellow agent. Gibbs handed out coffees to anyone who wanted a proper brew rather than the swill they had in the break room, Sue Maulin took a cup gratefully.

"Thanks Gibbs, no contact?"

"Nothing." They had all been hoping that Tim would get in touch somehow, but deep down they knew it was a vain hope. Gibbs noted the empty desk next to Sue. "Dorneget not here?"

She shook her head. "I called, left a message. It's not like him to be out of contact, maybe…no, forget it."

"Maybe what?"

"He was kinda mad yesterday, tried to hide it, but I could tell; when I asked you if you if you wanted him as a TAD while McGee was out of action."

Gibbs thought back to yesterday morning; they'd just got back from an abortive attempt to visit Tim in the hospital when Sue offered Dorneget as a possible replacement. Gibbs was already feeling guilty about the way things had ended with Tim, and he'd promised himself that as soon as he got the opportunity he would sit down with Tim and get to the bottom of the issues that had come between them.

"Guess I didn't gild the lily for him…"

She smiled wryly. "Telling him he was never going to be good enough to tie McGee's boot laces? No I don't think that was the most subtle way to say you didn't need a temp."

"So you think because he's pissed at me he hasn't come in to help in the search?"

"Could be Gibbs, but you know as well as I…McGee and Dorneget haven't exactly been bosom buddies lately. Maybe this is Dorny's way of getting back at McGee."

"Boss! We got it!" The cry from Tony had Gibbs running back to his desk.

"Show me."

Tony put the image up on the plasma. "There, going into the parking garage at Union Station."

The brief moment of elation that they knew where the cab had gone was tempered by the knowledge that it had been driven into one of the largest and busiest parking facilities in DC. Nonetheless, Gibbs got people started on the process of getting access to the security cameras on the parking complex, and he went with Tony and Ziva to look for the cab.

It didn't take long to find it, not many taxi cabs were likely to be found in a public parking garage.

"Tony, pop the trunk." They'd already looked inside and as soon as they opened the door and got a strong whiff of disinfectant, they knew finding any answers here was going to be difficult; whoever was behind this was doing a methodical job hiding their tracks.

The trunk was empty and the three of them let out the breath they had been holding, he wasn't here; but where was he? "Do you think they exchanged vehicles Gibbs?"

He nodded grimly. "Has to be Ziva, they must have had a car waiting in here; transferred Tim to the other vehicle and drove away."

Tony gave a low whistle. "That's a lot of vehicles Boss, without knowing make or model…it'll be like looking for Ziva's needle in a needle-stack."

"Then the sooner we get the pictures from the security cameras the faster we find out the car he's in, and we find him…we have to find him."

Gibbs made arrangements for the cab to be transported back to NCIS for a full examination, and the three of them did a check for fingerprints. All the obvious places were dusted, door handles, inside and out, parking brake, steering wheel, all to no avail; as expected the cab had been wiped clean.

If they had still been harbouring any doubts as to whether Tim had been taken on impulse or as part of a planned operation, they had been dispelled when they saw how methodical the clean-up had been, and when they realised a vehicle switch had taken place.

"Why take him Boss? He's already hurt…" Tony took a deep breath and tried to steady his voice. "We missed something big; Tim tried to tell us and we didn't listen."

"I know Tony, believe me, I know…Ziva, are you okay?"

Even in the subdued lighting of the parking garage Gibbs could see Ziva's eyes bright with tears. "When he walked out of the Director's office…the way he looked at us…that cannot be the last time we see him…I have to tell him…How did this happen Gibbs? How did we let him walk away from us that day without a word; what is wrong with us?"

Tony didn't wait for Gibbs to answer. "We're stupid jackasses, that's what's wrong Ziva. Tim was drowning and we didn't throw him a lifeline…and now…"

The ring tone on Gibbs' phone stilled any further conversation, was there news? It was Abby, Gibbs put the phone on speaker and her voice echoed through the garage. "Can Ziva and Tony hear this Gibbs?" She was angry, hey could all hear that.

"Yeah, you're on speaker Abs."

"Then let me tell you, I want you all back here asap because I have something you need to see, something…how could you be so blind? He…it's all here and you couldn't see, damn it Gibbs! He's part of your team too, why weren't you looking out for him?"

"Abigail, I told you to stay calm…" Ducky's quieter voice came as a surprise, why was he at NCIS? "Jethro, I heard about Timothy and came in to do whatever I could, I'm going to see if I can help Abigail…and Jethro, she is quite right, you need to see this."

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


	12. Chapter 12

6

They had returned to the Navy Yard just as soon as the tech team had arrived with the flat-loader, but it still wasn't fast enough for Abby. She was waiting for them at the door to her lab, and judging by the look on her face her mood had not improved since she called them at the parking garage.

"What took you so long? I already called Director Vance, he's getting us the footage from the squad room cameras, I don't know how long it will take to search them, he…Tim didn't have all the times on the list, dates, but not times…" She was pacing relentlessly around the lab and Gibbs put out a hand to still her, she pulled away from him for the second time that day. "No Gibbs, don't try getting on my good side, you, all of you…how could you send Tim away? He needed you, look…" Abby grabbed Gibbs' hand and practically dragged him to the plasma screen.

"Abs, slow down, what…oh no…"

"Yes Gibbs, yes! That creep, that evil, low down…he did all this, and you let him!"

"Abigail, enough. I told you to remain calm; we must focus on finding Timothy."

Abby's hand flew to her mouth and her eyes brightened just a little, then she turned toward Ducky and gave him a quick hug. "Oh Ducky, I'm so glad you're here…I…sometimes I…concentrate Abby!" She straightened her shoulders and turned to the screen.

"Do you see now? When it's all spelled out for you, do you see what was right in front of you? Ned Dorneget has been targeting Tim for weeks, and you Special Agent Leroy Jethro Gibbs, who never leaves a man behind; you left Tim to deal with it all alone…oh Ducky, I wish I'd never gone to New Orleans…"

Now that she had them here, and they could see as she had Tim's catalogue of everything that had been happening to him since the Aherne arrest, Abby's anger was spent. She threw herself at Ducky and started to cry.

"Hush my dear, Jethro is here now, they will find Timothy, you'll see."

"B…but if they'd listened to Tim, if they'd seen this, he wouldn't be missing. Dorneget…he told us, right here in the lab, he said he'd kill to be on Gibbs' team…we thought…you know, it's just something people say…we should have taken him seriously…do you think…? No, I can't think that…Ducky, I want him home."

Gibbs didn't try to offer comfort, he could see Abby wouldn't accept that from him right now. He read through Tim's list one more time, how could they have missed it? The pattern was there, and the man they thought wasn't functioning right was the only one who put it all together. He took out his phone. "We need to talk with Dorneget, I'll have…"

Ducky let go of Abby for a moment. "No need Jethro, I believe the Director has already sent a team to pick him up, and just as soon as Abigail gives them the approximate timings I understand another team will be looking at the squad room camera footage."

Tony turned away from the screen for the first time. "No way! We should be doing that, Tim…he…we didn't have his six, it's our job to get the bastard who did this."

"Not tonight Agent DiNozzo; tonight you are all going home to get some sleep." Vance had entered the lab unnoticed, he had already seen Abby's list, and had felt the sharp edge of her tongue; she'd accused him of jumping to conclusions and neglecting the welfare of one of his agents, and in truth he couldn't argue. He'd allowed his anger and humiliation over the complaints from the DA and the DoD to cloud his judgement, and he'd never given the young man a real opportunity to defend himself.

"The others can go, but I'm staying Leon, I let him down once, not going to happen again."

"And why did you let him down Gibbs? Why did McGee find it so hard to explain what was happening to him? I'll tell you why; you were all exhausted, not thinking straight. That is not going to happen again, we have a night shift here, and they'll take over until you get back in the morning. Don't make me have Security escort you from the building, because I will if I have to."

"Leon. We have to work on this, don't you see? We have to make it right."

Vance put his hand on Gibbs' shoulder. "I know; I feel the same way, but I'm not willing to let any of us make more mistakes because we're so tired we miss something."

"What about Dorneget? We should be the ones to question him."

"Agreed Agent David, and when we find him I'll call. He wasn't at his apartment, there's a BOLO out, the minute he breaks cover, we'll get him, and I promise you can carry out the investigation. Now go, you too Ms Sciuto, you've done good work today, get some sleep."

"But the cab, I have to…"

"No you don't, the technicians will carry out a thorough search, if there's anything to be found, they'll find it."

Ducky helped Abby out of her lab-coat and held out her jacket. "Come along my dear, you can stay at my home tonight, I don't want you to be alone."

"O…okay, thanks Ducky…Director, tell them not to forget the cap on the gas tank, even if they cleaned everywhere else, they don't always remember to wipe there, if they had to buy gas…"

Vance followed her out of the lab. "I'll tell them right now. Gibbs, David, DiNozzo, you have five minutes before I call Security."

NCIS NCIS

Once again they were all standing in front of a large plasma screen, and once again they were stunned into silence. The mood had been subdued ever since they arrived that morning to be told that there would be no footage from the parking garage; there had been a massive system failure, and all cameras had stopped recording the day Tim was taken. That blow had only just been delivered when they were told the squad room camera footage was available. The night shift had done a good job and had put together a number of sequences from the security camera footage, every one more damning than the last. Dorneget taking the car keys from Tim's desk, then returning them later that night, Dorneget removing Tim's sleeping pills, spilling the coffee on the thumb drive, an action that now looked deliberate rather than accidental, they watched him putting the evidence bags in Tim's back pack.

Tony raised his hand and gave himself a head slap. "Stupid! How could we miss all this? We're supposed to be investigators, and we let this happen right under our noses."

"He was clever Tony, you see how he chose his times so carefully, when there was hardly anyone around, and those who were here were busy at their desks."

"No excuse Ziva, there can never be an excuse for what we did, or didn't do…Boss, if Tim was right about all this, the memory card from the camera, Dorneget took that too…"

"Yeah Tony, damn it! I should have seen it, the pictures Dorneget took at the NRL, he was told to document the rest of the lab area, not the area where the bodies were, that was Tim's job, but Dorneget had all the pictures we could want of the bodies…I hate to admit it, but Vance is right; we were all too tired to think straight." Gibbs walked slowly toward Abby, he was careful not to touch her; she hadn't looked him in the eye the whole time they'd been in the squad room. "Abby, I know we screwed up, but we all have to work together to find Tim."

She looked at him then, and her red-rimmed eyes bore testimony to a sleepless and tearful night. "I…I shouldn't lay it all on you. I was so excited about going away with Kyle…I didn't see what was right in front of me. We went to lunch…he was so quiet, I put it down to his concussion, he still had the bruise…" Abby lifted her hand and touched her temple. "I didn't ask…I could see something was wrong and I went away and left him. Gibbs, give me some work, anything…I have to find him, to tell him…"

Gibbs wrapped his arm round her shoulder, and this time she didn't pull away. "Abs, Tim's computer, the one on his desk; he said his emails had been erased, can you find out who did it?"

"Just watch me!" Abby ran to Tim's desk and switched on his computer.

"Well done Jethro, Abigail needs to be busy."

"Wish we were all busy Duck, out there looking for him, but we have to know where to start…"

"Agent Gibbs! We got a hit on the fingerprints; Ms Sciuto was right, they didn't wipe the cover to the gas tank. George Franklin; in and out of prison since he turned eighteen. His brother is Alan Franklin, convicted last week of rape and murder." Kath Adams, one of the lab techs assigned to the case could barely contain her excitement. "We have an address." She handed Gibbs a small piece of paper, and a printout of Franklin's mug shot.

"Good work. Ziva, Tony, let's move!"

"Boss, the Franklin case…Tim testified…"

"And we're going to ask him about that, right after I find out where the hell he took Tim."

NCIS NCIS

The tension in the squad room was palpable; with every minute that passed the likelihood of finding Tim alive lessened. None of them wanted to say aloud what they were starting to think…they were already too late.

They were no closer to finding him than they had been when they first saw the footage of him leaving the hospital. Their visit to Franklin's apartment had proved futile; he wasn't there, and according to his neighbours, he hadn't been seen for two days, yet another BOLO was issued, and they had the necessary warrants to search his phone and financial records, but aside from that they had nothing.

Abby had confirmed that Tim's emails had been hacked, and that messages had been deleted and sent at times when Tim wasn't even in the squad room.

Gibbs had told Vance about the 2am phone-call that Tim was convinced had been from his boss and the Director set cyber crimes working on any possible leads. Teams were out visiting any places with a link to either Dorneget or Franklin, interviewing friends, neighbours, work colleagues, anyone who could offer them a possible location…somewhere they'd take Tim.

"Boss…it's been…"

"I know how long Tony, he's not dead, do you hear me?" Gibbs stood up and raised his voice so everyone in the squad room could hear him. "You all listen, and listen good. He. Is. Not. Dead. This is still a missing person search, and we're going to find him. All we need is one break, so keep looking!"

Another long, slow hour passed before they got a potential break. Franklin had rented a car the day Tim disappeared, a Chevrolet Equinox. A surge of energy ran through the squad room at the news, and they started searches on the traffic cameras around Union Station, this time they knew what they were looking for, they had to find something.

Gibbs glanced out of the window, the sun was already starting to set, wherever Tim was, could he last another night? "Hang on Tim; we're coming for you, just hang on…"

"Here they are, heading south out of the city; if they turn off the interstate we are in trouble…there are no traffic cameras on some of these side roads." Ziva scanned the footage, silently praying that they didn't turn off…to no avail, as the vehicle was lost to her sight she turned to Gibbs and Tony. "He is gone…what do we do now?"

Gibbs looked out the window once more, it was dark…"At first light we get search teams out, I don't care how long it takes, and how many people we have to talk to, we'll follow every possible route until we find him."

"Gibbs!" Leon Vance ran down the stairs, his cell phone held aloft. "They found him! Agent McGee...he's hurt, but he's alive!"

"Where?"

"Who?"

"How?"

Single word questions flew across the room, but Gibbs was silent…was it true…after so long, would they really have the opportunity to make amends for all the bad decisions they'd made?

Vance held out his phone to Gibbs, there was a picture of a man's face, covered in cuts, dirt, bruises…it took Gibbs a few seconds to recognise…"Tim, where is he Leon? We have to go…"

"I have my driver waiting for you all downstairs. McGee, he was found by the side of Dumfries Road, where it borders Prince William Forest Park, he's been airlifted to Bethesda, go, call me when you have news."

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


	13. Chapter 13

7

**Chapter Thirteen**

Abby collected the empty cups and dropped them in the recycling box, then she looked up at the clock. Two hours…seemed longer, but the clock definitely showed that just two hours had passed since Vance's driver had pulled up outside the ER at Bethesda Naval Hospital and they'd all rushed in to see Tim. Only they couldn't see him, they'd been told he was being examined, and that they should all take a seat in the waiting room; they were still waiting.

"Abigail, please sit down, the doctor will be here as soon as possible."

"I'm better if I keep busy, I should get drinks, people need drinks. Gibbs, you always want coffee, I could…"

"Abby, come here, sit with me please, we will wait together." Ziva held out her hand and Abby suddenly seemed to run out of energy, she slumped down in the chair next to Ziva.

"I'm scared Ziva, it's taking so long."

"Because they want to be sure they do not miss anything; the police officer said McGee was…that he had a number of injuries, you would not wish undue haste to cause him further pain."

"No! It's just…to know he's so close and not be able to see him."

Ziva gripped Abby's hand tight. "Soon Abby, very soon, I am certain."

It had been another thirty minutes before the doctor came to tell them the latest news on Tim's condition, and to allow them a very brief visit. "Our biggest concern is his leg wound; it has become badly infected and although we have now cleaned up the wound, he has a high temperature, unless the antibiotics start working soon he's going to face an uphill battle."

Ducky nodded with a sigh, he gave the monitors a cursory glance and then concentrated his attention on Tim. The police officer who had been first at the scene had told them that he'd been found by a family driving back to DC after a family vacation. One of the children had felt car sick, and her father had stopped the car to let her take a walk and get some fresh air; they'd seen Tim lying on the ground about ten yards from the side of the road. They'd called the police and Tim was recognised by the responding officer, according to Officer Merton the man who found Tim had feared that he was dead, and Ducky could easily see why. Tim's face was a mess of cuts, contusions; his arms were covered in more gashes and bruises, and his hands…

"My dear boy, whatever happened to you out there?"

"Duck, is he going to be okay?"

"We must all hope so Jethro. The cuts are mostly superficial, the broken ribs…luckily there has been no internal bleeding or lung damage; he took a blow to the head, again we are fortunate that there does not appear to be haemorrhaging…"

"But…" Gibbs was no medical expert, but even he could see the temperature reading on the monitor was way too high.

"Yes Jethro, as you see, fighting the infection is key to Timothy's recovery. He is badly dehydrated, and desperately weak, but he will be getting the very best medical care and we will be with him. Do you hear Timothy? We won't be leaving you alone, I promise."

Keeping that promise had proved a lot easier than they may have thought. Penelope Langston arrived four hours after Tim was admitted, anxious about her grandson, and angry that she'd been on a field trip and had forgotten to check her messages when she got home. Once she had quizzed Gibbs on how Tim came to be in his current condition, and he'd given her a much edited version of the events of the last few days Penny had settled in to sit with Tim until his parents arrived.

"You come any time, I know how much you all mean to Timothy, and I'm sure it will help his recovery to have you close."

If she noticed the way Gibbs and the others looked when she offered her open invitation, Penny didn't comment, she was much more interested in whispering words of comfort to her beloved grandson.

NCIS NCIS

On Gibbs' orders they had all gone home to their own beds, and next morning Abby and Ducky headed out to Bethesda to meet Tim's parents, and to spend some time sitting with him.

Gibbs, Tony and Ziva drove out to the spot where Tim was found, and they followed his tracks back into the forest, followed the route that had taken almost every ounce of his strength.

Tony stooped down and put his hand to the ground. "He…do you see Boss? He dug his fingers into the ground and dragged himself along…and all the time, his leg…ribs…the pain must have been…"

"You know Tony, as I do, his strength, it is not always on display, but inside, deep inside he has reserves of courage we can only imagine." Ziva looked at the trail he had left, at the broken twigs, flattened undergrowth, at the flecks of blood that marked Tim's slow, painful progress. A shiver ran through her; he could have died out here, lost and alone…because they had doubted him. "I will never forgive myself…even if McGee finds it in his heart to forgive us…he must have felt that we had abandoned him."

"Then let's start making amends by catching the bastards who left him out here to die. Concentrate; we have to find where the trail starts, then maybe we can get some evidence to lead us to Franklin…or Dorneget." Gibbs was covering his guilt and anxiety in the only way he knew how, work.

They continued along the trail, bagging any piece of evidence that might help them; fragments of clothing, a shoe, loose change, anything that could hold a fingerprint or a fragment of DNA to link Tim to his kidnappers. About one mile along the trail Tony dropped to his knees, gripped by a sharp pain in his gut he threw up on the ground. Shakily, he tried to stand, and was grateful for some support from Gibbs.

"Tony, you okay?"

With a shake of his head Tony leaned down, picked up something from the flattened undergrowth and placed it carefully in an evidence jar. "You see Boss?" He held up the jar and Gibbs and Ziva knew exactly why he'd felt nauseous. "He tore off his own fingernail trying to get a firm grip…and he still kept going, how Boss, how did he keep going?"

"Because he wanted to live Tony, strongest instinct there is." Gibbs took the jar from Tony and added it to those already nestled in his back pack. "You ready to move on?"

"Hell yes, there's no way I'm letting him down again."

The trail had come to an end at the side of another road, Tony checked his map. "The Scenic Drive; they must have taken him out of the car and…he was so close Boss, why did he head in the other direction?"

"Think it through Tony; he was most likely unconscious when they threw him down there." They stared down the steep slope and felt renewed bitterness toward the people who had thrown their team mate into the forest like a piece of garbage. "We've just about managed to walk up here, and we're fit and able; you saw Tim, his leg wound…he couldn't think about standing upright, let alone climbing up here."

Ziva's hands were clenched in tight fists, and her voice was a low whisper. "To wake up down there…in pain, alone…Gibbs, when we find the men who did this, will you allow me to interrogate them? I wish to repay them in kind for what they put McGee through."

"Get in line Ziva."

NCIS NCIS

The evidence had been taken to the navy Yard, and Abby had needed just a little persuasion to leave Tim and return to her lab. She wanted to help find the men who had hurt Tim, of course she did, but she was scared to let him out of her sight. In the end it was Tim's mom who persuaded her to go.

"Abby, we don't have your skills, we can sit here with Tim, tell him we love him…but we can't take the evidence and make it talk…you can. You can help Tim so much more right now by finding the men who put him here, Andrew, Penny and I, we'll watch over him until you get back."

Abby had looked through the window at Tim, every instinct she had told her she should work the case, but he looked do frail and lost…"You promise to call me if he wakes up…"

"We promise Abby."

The whole team had headed back to the Navy Yard, Ducky and Jimmy were intent on helping Abby sift through the evidence, and Gibbs, Tony and Ziva were going to check yet more names. Someone out there had to know where Franklin was hiding and Dorneget too; Gibbs wanted him, he wanted him bad.

NCIS NCIS

For the duration of his stay in the ICU they had taken turns with Tim's family to sit with him, he wasn't fully conscious at any time. Several times their hopes had been raised, and they thought he was waking, but he remained in a state of fevered delirium, mumbling incoherently, tossing and turning, occasionally reaching out for something that always seemed to be just beyond his grasp. They would hold him then, offer meaningless words of comfort, and eventually he would quieten, but the fever didn't break, and each day Tim seemed to be getting sicker, it was almost like he was fading away before their eyes.

Tony tried to put into words what Tim meant to him, to tell his friend that he was the most stupid man alive, that he wanted to take back everything he'd said, to go back to when they were all sitting in Vance's office and shout out 'Tim is right, if he says Dorneget did all this, crazy as it sounds he's right…' Only there was no going back, all he could do was tell the pale, bruised shadow of his friend that he was sorry, over and over again, and to tell him he would make everything right. "Come on Tim, all you have to do is wake up. Do it for me, so you can watch me head slap myself, better yet, when your hands are healed, you can do it, as hard as you like."

Gibbs had been careful to see everyone, including himself, got some sleep every day; and much as he didn't like it, he'd allowed two other teams to take over guard duty at Bethesda. Until they had Dorneget and Franklin in custody, Tim would have a guard outside his room; Gibbs wasn't going to let Tim suffer any more, not because they were too tired to do their jobs.

The lab results had come through, and the long hours Abby had spent swabbing Tim's clothes had paid off.

"He must have fought back Gibbs, the…the blood stains on his jacket, there were three different donors. Tim…there was a lot of Tim's blood." Abby took a deep breath and hit the keyboard again. "Two smaller drops, I'm running the DNA now, and however much I might wish it were faster, we won't have the results until tomorrow."

Abby had been true to her word, and on the third day of Tim's stay in the hospital they had confirmation that George Franklin had taken Tim to the Forest Park, and someone else was with him; Reggie Banks, a career criminal who had been out on parole for just three weeks.

"Next time he goes to jail, he's never coming out. Let's go get the bastard."

NCIS NCIS

"You can there staring at me as long as you want Gibbs; I've told you everything I know."

He hated it, but Gibbs was certain Banks was telling the truth, they'd been working on him for hours and he hadn't budged from his original story. George Franklin had called Banks the day after his brother had been found guilty, he was haranguing everyone who had anything to do with the conviction, but seemed to have an especial hatred of some Fed who testified. "Said he was a bumbling idiot, but he had the jury fooled, even when he was stuttering over his answers the jury was lapping it up, like he was some cute puppy dog. He hated him Agent Gibbs, and I owed him a favour…there was a fight in prison, and I was going down, he helped me…you don't forget stuff like that, even when you're on parole."

"You're going back to jail, you know that don't you?"

"Like I said, I owed him. But all I did was drive the cab, and help him make the changeover."

"Liar!" Ziva slammed the table. "You drove to Prince William Forest Park and helped Franklin throw Special Agent McGee to what you hoped was his death."

"Not me. Look, I swear to you, I helped Franklin get him out of the cab, that's when he gave me a split lip…he sure wasn't going quietly. I hold my hands up to all that, but what happened after they left the parking garage, I had nothing to do with what Franklin did out there."

"But you didn't stop him, knowing you were helping to abduct a Federal Agent, knowing that Franklin wanted him dead, you did nothing."

Banks shook his head. "Couldn't…I owe Franklin my life, if I have to spend the rest of mine in jail, that's how it goes."

NCIS NCIS

"Will he see us this time do you think Gibbs?" Ziva was in the waiting room with Tony and Gibbs, Tim had been transferred from the ICU, Abby was already visiting with him, and now that he was conscious she was most likely telling him over and over that she shouldn't have left him, that he should have told her…Gibbs smiled a little; she was also most likely holding on to him so tight he'd end up with another bruise or two.

"Ducky said Tim's still confused about what led up to him being in the forest, he remembers bits and pieces, mostly he remembers we didn't believe him."

Tony leaned forward and rested his chin on his hands. "I was hoping when Ducky said he couldn't remember everything…you know, I was hoping that's what he'd forget."

"Might as well deal with it now Tony, if he'll let us."

They'd spent another fruitless day searching for Franklin, even with Banks' new information, and the new leads it gave them regarding Franklin's time in prison, they still hadn't been able to find him. As for Dorneget, it was like he'd vanished off the face of the earth, no activity of his credit cards, phone, bank accounts, no sightings; Gibbs kept telling himself it was only a matter of time before they found them, that they couldn't stay hidden forever, but as each day passed the already cold trail was getting even colder. Tim had now been in the hospital for five days, he'd been struggling through the forest for two days before that…a week, and still they couldn't find them.

"Jethro, Timothy is willing to see you."

The three of them jumped to their feet, and Ducky held up his hand for a moment. "Listen to me please, he is still in the early stages of recovery, fighting the infection has left him with little energy; I will be honest with you and say I advised Timothy against seeing you at this stage, but he is adamant that he is well enough to talk about what happened."

"You're not so sure Duck?"

"I'm almost one hundred percent certain that it's an incredibly bad idea, but the same streak of stubbornness that got him through this ordeal is very much to the fore right now, and he wants to do this." As they walked out of the waiting room Ducky laid his hand on Gibbs' arm. "Jethro, take care please, he is much more fragile than he might think, Timothy has a long, hard road to full recovery, and the last thing he needs now is another setback."

At Tim's door Ducky gestured for them to wait outside, he went in and returned a few minutes later with Abby. She gave them all a glare of which Gibbs would have been proud. "Remember what I can do to each and every one of you, and I wouldn't leave a trace of evidence. I'll do it too if you hurt him again."

She followed Ducky into the waiting room, and Ziva led Gibbs and Tony into Tim's room. They hadn't seen him for a day, and had been hoping to see real signs of improvement, if there were any they were miniscule, there were still monitors and IVs, he still seemed to have more colour than was healthy for Tim, and his bandaged hands were restless on the bed covers.

The three of them moved slowly, not sure whether he was sleeping, as they got closer to the bed, he opened his eyes, and the look he gave them, so reminiscent of the way he'd looked when he walked out of Vance's office told them this wasn't going to be easy.

Tony was first to speak. "Tim…"

"Go ahead…I'm…listening…"

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


	14. Chapter 14

6

**Chapter Fourteen**

Ziva sat beside the bed and tentatively reached out to hold Tim's wrist, he didn't pull away and she gestured to Gibbs and Tony to come closer. "McGee, we understand…no, that is not true, how can we understand what you went through? We were wrong, in every possible way we misjudged you and what was happening to you."

"I tried…tell you…believed him...not me, why?"

There it was, before they even had chance to offer any mitigation, there was the $64,000 question. Gibbs took a couple of steps closer to the bed. "Simple answer Tim, we screwed up. We did just about everything wrong; made assumptions, didn't check the evidence, I didn't listen to my gut…everything we know not to do on a case…"

"I'm not…a case…I…I thought…your team, thought I was…part of it."

"You are, but God knows I can see why you would think different. I'm not much for long speeches Tim, you know that, but I'm prepared to talk all night if I can make you understand how much I regret what we did."

Tim glanced up at Gibbs, then at the monitors and the IV. "Without all this…the hospital…would you have believed…? Always believe Tony, Ziva…put your career…on the line for them…for me…nothing Gibbs…" Tim shook his head a little as if to clear his mind. "No, not true…steak…good steak too…you did help then…what changed?"

It took Gibbs just a second to work out what Tim was saying, the weekend they'd all gone to check on him, take him food, because they were concerned for his wellbeing. Tim had the right to an answer, when had that concern for a team-mate, a friend, turned into dangerous uncertainty and inaction? "I wish I had all the answers Tim, heck, I wish I had some…I…we, had too much work, too little sleep. We kept going back to your concussion, and we took everything at face value, I'll never forgive myself for that. I should have talked with you, not dismissed everything you told me. But, there was so much that was…off."

"The phone…"

"Yeah, that was one thing. I know I can get away without much sleep, but calls at that time, you were babbling away about me being okay, and I hadn't called Tim, I thought you'd had a bad dream and imagined everything."

"Abby told me."

"She tell you how mad she was when she heard what we did?"

A ghost of a smile crossed Tim's face. "She did…in detail…"

Ziva squeezed his arm gently. "She was right McGee; everything she said was well deserved. We have let you down so badly. I have asked myself over and over, how we could listen to Dorneget, why did we take his word when you were right in front of us, you who does not lie…"

"So tell me…I want to know…" He started to cough, and once he had started he couldn't seem to stop. He tried to reach out for the beaker beside his bed, but Ziva beat him to it, she held the straw to Tim's lips, he took a few sips and the coughing subsided, "Thanks." He leaned back against his pillows and turned his gaze on Tony. "You're pretty quiet…no movie quote…for this?"

"Not a one…what I have to say, it's all my own words Tim. I'm begging you; don't let what we did break up the team. We can make this right, you tell us what we have to do and we'll do it, right Boss?"

"Right Tony. We're already making changes Tim, Leon is putting new rulings in place about the number of hours we can work without a proper rest, and I don't mean snoozing at your desk. We almost lost you because we were driving on empty…I told you, I said you weren't at the top of your game, but it wasn't you Tim, it was us, we took our eye off the ball and left you without backup. That shames me Tim, more than I can ever say; we're supposed to have each others' backs all the time, not just out in the field…"

"Didn't seem to me you were…watching my back…Dorneget…he just had to sow a few seeds…and you were willing to…leave me hanging…weeks of watching you waiting…for my next…mistake…only they weren't mistakes…"

His voice almost gave out and he reached again for a drink; this time it was Tony who came to his assistance. "I got it Tim, take it steady."

"I hate this…feeling so…helpless…Abby said he's still out there and…Franklin…never knew he had a brother." Tim ran out of breath again, every time he tried to talk, it was taking a lot out of him; he wouldn't be able to keep this up much longer.

"Neither did we, we'll get them Tim." Tony set the beaker down and waited for Tim's breathing to settle. "You know there's a guard on your room, and we won't stop 'til we catch him."

"Except for sleep…you have to rest…"

"We will Tim, I promise. And here's another promise, we're going to get them, and they're both going to jail for a very long time."

Tim leaned against his pillows and closed his eyes; he was so tired, maybe Ducky had been right, he should have waited before he talked with them. Only he couldn't wait, he had to try and understand, make sense of everything that had happened, help him figure out why he'd lost a week of his life to pain and fevered images of confrontation and despair. He opened his eyes to find them all standing, their faces filled with…what was it? Guilt, sorrow, worry…he couldn't tell; once upon a time, before Dorneget, he could rely on them, least he thought he could. "Was I wrong?"

"McGee, we thought you were sleeping, did you say something?" Ziva touched his arm lightly, but this time he did pull away.

"All the years we're been…together, did you…all of you, did you…ever really trust me? I have…to know, was I wrong to …trust you?"

For a few heartbeats none of them spoke, the raw pain behind Tim's question demanded they thought deeply about their answer. Ziva regained her composure first. "McGee, I have tried, all the days since I let you walk out of the Director's office, I have tried to understand why I did not call you back…I cannot explain even to myself, except to say that I was unbelievably foolish. To doubt you, who has been my stalwart friend through so much; you risked your life for me, a debt I can never repay…yet I sat there and let you go…" She faltered under Tim's piercing gaze and Gibbs continued.

"We all sat back Ziva. Tim, we've talked about this, the three of us, Ducky too, he feels like he let you down because he let us all work when we were exhausted."

Tim shook his head. "Not Ducky's fault…we've worked long…hours before."

"I know, but maybe not so many big cases, so close together, it was relentless Tim, I don't have to tell you. I'm not using that as an excuse, what we did is inexcusable, you're right, we should never have taken the word of a virtual stranger over yours; we know each other so well we almost finish each others' thoughts, and still we cast you adrift. I don't say sorry Tim, always seemed to me it was a wasted word, better not to do something you have to apologise for, but this…what we put you through, for that I am more sorry than I can say."

Tim closed his eyes again, he didn't want them to see how close he was to breaking down, maybe he shouldn't be doing this, it was too soon, too raw. Gibbs leaned closer to the bed.

"Tim, do you want us to leave?"

"Maybe…can't seem to stay…awake…just had to see you…find out why…why I saw such doubt in your eyes…you hurt me…"

"Don't Tim, please." Tim's words had cut through Tony like a knife. "We broke so many of Gibbs' rules, I don't even want to think about it…this isn't the time, you need to get well. Heck Tim, I was stupid, blind and stupid. I just want to go back to the beginning and do it all over."

"Not sure it would…make a difference, seems you all….made up your minds…pretty fast."

"Too fast Tim, we looked at things from totally the wrong angle…we can't go back, but we can move forward, you have to believe us, we're going to do everything we can to make things right between us."

"I want to…Tony, I really want…to believe you…guess doubt is…contagious…maybe tomorrow, we can talk…some more."

"Anything you want Tim, I meant what I said, and I know Ziva and Gibbs will be here too."

"Okay…" Tim let out a deep sigh and closed his eyes, physically and emotionally spent, he let himself fall into a deep sleep.

Gibb took a deep breath; they'd got through it without Tim telling them to go to hell, sure they still had a long way to go, but this first step had been the one they had all been dreading, and it was done. He smiled as Ziva planted a quick kiss on Tim's forehead and Tony gave Tim's shoulder a gentle squeeze.

"Tomorrow Tim, I promise."

Gibbs lingered a moment and laid his hand on Tim's arm. "We're going to make this right, rest now, you've earned it."

NCIS NCIS

They had been true to their word and had returned the next day. No sooner had they walked into Tim's room than they ran into Penny Langston in full flow, she left them in no doubt that in her opinion Timothy should walk away from NCIS because they clearly didn't appreciate what they had.

Tim had expected this kind of reaction from his grandmother, and he'd hesitated about telling her the full story of what had led to him being in the hospital. He'd told his parents the night before and his dad had taken the more pragmatic view that sometimes in high pressure situations, commanders made inappropriate decisions that led to people being hurt. Tim wasn't quite ready to see himself as collateral damage, but he figured his dad had a point. Andrew and Theresa McGee had taken the early morning flight to San Diego, a US Navy Admiral had many calls on his time, and now that Tim was on the mend, and they'd elicited a promise from him that he'd fly out to visit them the minute he was well enough, they felt able to leave him in Penny's more than capable hands.

For her part Penny had left Gibbs and the others in no doubt as to where the blame lay for her grandson's current situation.

"I am well aware that you did not cause any of Timothy's physical injuries, but what you did to him, the neglect, the lack of trust…does loyalty mean nothing to you people? No matter, my grandson has a kinder heart than I, and he's willing to give you a second chance. I suggest you grab it with both hands, and do not screw this up Agent Gibbs."

"Don't you worry, we know how lucky we are to get this opportunity, we're going to do things right this time."

They had talked again, and things were starting to be a little easier between them, Tim knew a couple of conversations weren't going to make everything right, things had gone way too far for that, so he had a question for them, and their answers would show him just how serious they were about making amends.

"I…I'm seeing someone, at the hospital, a therapist…she's good, we talk about…everything, not just the Dorneget stuff…how I feel about you…she…she thinks maybe it would be good if we all talked together, with her."

"Group therapy?" Tony was taken aback; this was something he hadn't expected. That said, he was totally prepared to go ahead with it, anything to help Tim understand they really meant what they said, but he knew Gibbs would never agree, he hated the idea of people prying into his private thoughts...only Gibbs was looking intently at Tim, and it looked like he was seriously considering the idea.

"You really think this will help Tim, all of us together?"

"I do Boss…Doctor Sharma would like Abby and Ducky there too, could you at least try it, just one time?"

"Tim, we made you a promise, and I keep my promises. Tony, Ziva?"

"Of course, how could I refuse?" Ziva would walk over hot coals to have the team together again; talking with a total stranger about the mistakes that had led them here was a small price to pay.

Tony nodded vigorously. "Absolutely no problema Tim, count me in!"

Tim was sitting in his room, actually sitting in a chair and relishing the way the world looked from this new angle. After his second conversation with the team yesterday, and their unexpected agreement to meet with Doctor Sharma, he decided to strike while the iron was hot, and they had a session arranged for this afternoon. Tim looked up at the clock, he had time for a short nap, his physical therapy had been tough, and he didn't want to fall asleep during the group session, he wasn't about to get back into bed, way too many hours had been spent there already, so he settled back in the chair and closed his eyes.

Tim wasn't sure how long he'd been sleeping, but he became aware that he wasn't alone, had he slept so long the team was already here? He came to slowly, the meds made him drowsy most of the time, and when he slept it was always tough to wake up fully. He tried opening his eyes, the light was always dazzling, and he took a few seconds to focus. A slow realisation crept over him, this was wrong…why wasn't anyone talking? He finally focussed on the two men who were standing in front of the closed door, and his world turned upside down.

"Dorneget…what…how did you get in here, where's Owen? What have you done to him?" Tim struggled to get out of his chair; he couldn't just sit here…

"Stay right where you are."

"You…"

George Franklin took a step closer to Tim. "Wasn't sure you'd recognise me; you're a hard man to kill Agent McGee, but I've never backed away from a challenge."

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


	15. Chapter 15

7

**Chapter Fifteen**

Tim could barely breathe; this nightmare…would it never end? "Ned…please…don't do this…" As he sat back in his chair and tried to get his heart rate under control Tim took a good look at Dorneget, he looked…smaller somehow than he had the last time Tim had seen him. He was unshaven, shoulders bowed, he seemed to shy away from Franklin, and was that a bruise on Dorneget's cheek?

"No choice McGee, he threatened my family, couldn't take the chance…I…I didn't want this, you have to believe me…"

"Don't see why I should…after what you did…was it you…told him when I was leaving the hospital?"

Franklin sneered with outright contempt. "Him? He doesn't know everything McGee, sometimes you don't have to use all your new-fangled gadgets, sometimes just watching and waiting, that's all you need, good old-fashioned surveillance."

Watching…something clicked in Tim's mind. He'd felt like he was being watched, way back at the start of all his troubles, the night he ran for the Metro in the pouring rain, could that have been Franklin? "How long have you been watching?"

"Long enough to know where you went and when; and to know you drive a Porsche."

"The car, it was you…"

"Oh yeah, there was me trying to shake you up, make you more vulnerable when I came in to stop you giving evidence, and all the time young Ned here was doing my work for me. I kept tabs on you, and I could see things were off…you threw me off my stride when you went to Union Station; I was all ready to buy a ticket for New York when that spaced-out junkie almost did my job for me."

Tim was staring at the knife in Franklin's hand, could he stop Franklin, did he have the strength? He looked down at his hands, the dressings were less bulky that they had been, but he still had nowhere near full mobility in his fingers, there was simply no way he could wrest a knife from anyone's hands, not feeling the way he did right now. He didn't want it to end like this, things were just starting to get better with the team, if they had more time, they could put things right…time, trying not to make it obvious he checked the clock. The team should be on the way, if he could just keep Dorneget talking, maybe they could get here before Franklin used the knife.

"Ned…Owen, what did you do with him?" Tim liked the young agent who had been one of those posted to guard his room, and he didn't want to think someone else had been hurt because of him.

"Don't worry McGee, he's not hurt, I called him, well, he didn't know it was me, I told him I was a doctor at Washington General, his wife is seven months pregnant, I told him she'd been admitted, abdominal pain…"

"That was cruel Ned, he'll be out of his mind, they lost their first baby, did you know?"

Dorneget nodded and his face reddened. "I did, we…Franklin wanted me to wait 'til you were out of the ICU and being guarded by the most vulnerable member of your protection detail."

"But how did he know? Oh, right…you told him, God Ned, is nothing sacred to you, Owen is a fellow agent, worried sick about his wife, how could you?"

"I told you, Franklin has people watching my family, he said if I didn't go along with him, he'd hurt them. I had no choice."

Tim slumped back in his chair and shook his head sadly. "There's always a choice Ned, you could have gone to Gibbs…he would have protected your family…whatever you had done."

"You don't seriously expect me to believe that?"

"If you don't, it just shows you don't know the man; family is everything to him."

"Didn't look that way when he left you hanging McGee."

Tim winced as that barb hit home. "We all make mistakes…important thing to do is learn from them."

"Hey you two! Knock it off, I have work to do." Franklin took another step closer to his chair and Tim held his breath for a second. It was too soon, he had to buy some more time.

"Wait! Please…this man." With a distinctly shaky hand Tim pointed to Dorneget. "He tried to ruin my life, alienate me from my team; I think I deserve an explanation."

"So make it fast, I want to get back on the road, I have some good friends waiting for me, they don't have all day, and neither do I." He took his stance behind the chair, and Tim could feel the pressure of the blade against his back, the thin hospital robe offering little protection. "Don't try anything clever, you're already on borrowed time."

Tim swallowed the lump that had suddenly appeared in his throat, and looked up at Dorneget. "So tell me Dorny, what did I ever do to you? Why make me your target? I know you wanted my place on Gibbs' team, heck you're not the only young agent who's wanted to take my place, everyone thinks the geek is the vulnerable one, is that why you chose me, the easiest to replace?"

"You really have to ask? Like you said, the geek is always the easy target, and I'd seen the way Gibbs was around the others, I could see he'd never let either DiNozzo or David go, but you…thought you were expendable…shows how much I know."

"Seems to me you knew something; didn't take long for Gibbs, and the others…they soon listened to you and stopped believing me."

Dorneget gave a reflective smile. "It was such a good plan, I'd been thinking about it the whole time I was in cyber crimes. How did you stand it down there for months on end?"

Tim shrugged. "I had a job to do, important work." A shiver ran through him as Franklin slowly ran the knife blade down his arm, not with enough pressure to break the skin, just enough to let Tim know he was still there.

"Hurry this along, I have places to go."

Tim didn't dare look at the clock, how much longer could he keep Franklin from using his knife for real, he had another question for Dorneget, had to keep coming up with questions. "When…when did you stop thinking I was expendable?"

"Like I told you, it was a good plan, only…it was dependent on me having some time working with the team, to show them I could be better than you. It would have worked too, when you got suspended it played right into my hands…a week with the team; they'd have seen what I can do…never would have noticed you were gone. Then some dumb junkie had to go and ruin everything."

"The junkie…how?" Tim was genuinely nonplussed, why would the fact that he'd been stabbed change Dorneget's plan, he'd still be away from the team.

Dorneget gave a hollow laugh. "You didn't see them when they heard what happened…then when you wouldn't let them visit you in the hospital; they looked…they were lost McGee, without you they were lost. Did you know what Gibbs told me…said I wasn't fit to tie your bootlaces…all I wanted to do was show him I could do a good job and he dismissed me out of hand. You know how I felt then, what it was like to see DiNozzo and David nodding in agreement?"

Tim nodded. "I think I do, I know a bit about feeling rejected…"

"Enough already! This is turning into Oprah. I'm done waiting, time you paid for what you did to my brother."

Tim felt Franklin's hot breath on his neck as he leaned close, he saw the hand in front of his face, this was it; the hand came closer and grasped his chin. Tim took a deep, shuddering breath, it couldn't end like this, dying in his own hospital room, his throat cut…it couldn't…Tim heard the door crash open, and felt a momentary loosening of Franklin's grip, quick as he was able Tim bit down on Franklin's hand as hard as he could. He felt a burning sensation in his arm and as he started falling to the floor he thought he heard voices shouting 'Federal Agents', he knew he heard gunshots; then his head hit the ground and he heard nothing more.

NCIS NCIS

"Abby, stop!" Gibbs pulled Abby away from Dorneget; the sound of the heavy slap she had just administered to his face echoed round the waiting room, and Abby was poised to strike again.

"Let me go Gibbs, he…he hurt Tim, he deserves it."

"No argument from me Abs, but we have to do things right. As soon as Atherton's team has picked up Franklin's cronies, they'll come and collect Dorneget, take him back to the Yard."

"Then I'll tell them they don't have to be too gentle with him." She turned again to Dorneget, her eyes filled with rage. "You…you bastard! How could you, when all Tim ever did was show you kindness, try to help you any way he could, how…?" Abby started to cry again, as she had when she'd seen Tim lying on the floor motionless, blood pooling under his arm…Gibbs led her back to one of the hard plastic chairs that seemed to populate every hospital waiting room he'd ever sat in.

"He'll pay for what he did to Tim, I promise Abby." He held her close and glared at Dorneget, sitting the other side of the room, flanked by Tony and Ziva, his hands cuffed behind his back. "She's right Dorneget, you are a bastard, the worst kind…you went after one of your own, and for what? Did you ever in your craziest imaginings think I was going to let Tim go, and take you…look at you, didn't even have the balls to come to me when your family was threatened."

Dorneget opened his mouth, ready with a question, but Gibbs silenced him with a glance. "They're okay, no thanks to you. Director Vance sent a team to your parents' place, they've arrested two men, now Franklin's dead, I don't see you having any trouble…you should have come to me, even after what you did, I'd have helped your family."

"That's what McGee said…Agent Gibbs, is he going to be okay?"

"No thanks to you, but yes, the doctor's checking him over, he likely has another concussion, and he'll need stitches, but he'll be fine, we'll see to that."

"I was so scared Gibbs…" Abby's voice was so low it only just registered on his consciousness.

"Me too Abs, but we got here in time, he's safe now." Gibbs wasn't lying to make Abby feel better, he had been scared; when Owen called and told him he'd left Tim alone…Gibbs didn't even think about tearing the young agent a new one, he just hit the gas and got to Bethesda as fast as he could. Mercifully, they'd already been on the road, each of them preparing in their own way, to face their group therapy session, Gibbs had left Ducky and Abby at reception and he'd raced along the corridor with Tony and Ziva at his side. When they burst into Tim's room and saw him fall…Gibbs shuddered, he'd thought they were too late, and when Franklin raised his knife again, there was only one outcome. As soon as they got Tim out of there, and into the hands of the medical team, Ducky had called Jimmy and they were preparing Franklin's body for transport.

Tony's hands were shaking; he wasn't sure whether it was suppressed rage, or the release of the tension that had built with every minute they took to get to Bethesda. They'd promised Tim, a solemn promise, that they'd have his back, and it was very nearly a promise broken…a few seconds later and Tim would have been dead, Tony knew that with every fibre of his being, and the knowledge had shaken him to the core.

"Tony, are you alright?" Ziva was almost as shaken as Tony; she'd just had a lot more practice hiding how she felt.

"Will be, when we get rid of this scumbag, and we can go see Tim. I hate seeing him like that, too much like the first time…"

"DiNozzo…"

"No one gave you permission to speak Dorneget; I'm getting sick to my stomach just sitting next to you."

"I know you must hate me."

Tony stared hard into Dorneget's eyes. "You have no idea how much. Because of you, I almost let one of the best men I ever knew walk out of my life; you manipulated me…us, and we turned our backs on Tim. I'm not going to forgive myself for that any time soon, but I'm never going to forgive you. Ambition…that's all it was, blind ambition and you were prepared to let him take the fall for so many things…"

"Do not upset yourself Tony. Agent Dorneget will soon be 'former Agent Dorneget' and when we file all the charges against him, and there are so many…his only ambition will be to stay alive in prison."

Ned Dorneget bowed his head, Ziva was right…he wasn't built for prison, but it was something he'd have to deal with, his plan always had an element of risk, but he thought the worst that could happen if anyone discovered what he was doing was that he'd be fired…when did he lose sight of the fact that what he was doing was criminal, and Tim…Abby was right, Tim had only ever shown him kindness, had even told him about Gibbs' favourite coffee…when did he decide to turn that kindness against him and make him a target? And what was it all for, for a job that meant so much he was prepared to ruin another man's career, but meant so little he was prepared to break his oath to serve and protect…

"I know what I did, and I have to deal with it…but you must believe me; Franklin, he came out of left field, I didn't know what he was doing to McGee, not until he was taken from the hospital…he came to me then, wanted me to hack into NCIS servers, find out where he was, what protection was in place…I had to tell him Gibbs, my family…" He paused for breath. "There's something else you should know…when McGee thought he saw a gun, you remember, the Aherne arrest…it was the concussion that kick-started my plan, I could see he wasn't feeling so good…it's something I'll always be ashamed of, but I saw he could be weak, just long enough for me to put my plan into action."

The door opened, and two men entered the room, nodded to Gibbs and walked toward the handcuffed man.

"They're here Dorneget; take some time to think about what you did, what's coming next; and remember this." Gibbs pulled Dorneget to his feet and handed him over to Jim Atherton. "Remember, we learn from our mistakes, the bond you tried to break, that we almost let you break, it's stronger than ever, Tim is family, never, ever forget that, now get out of my sight."

"Wait, listen…the gun, he did see it…Franklin was in the bar, he was following McGee even then, If he'd had a clear shot he would have taken it, only Aherne tried to get away…you know the rest…"

"Go Dorneget; get yourself a good lawyer, because you're going to need one."

NCIS NCIS

"This is getting so old…"

"Come on Tim, more pretty nurses to hover around you, what's not to like?"

"I don't know Tony, maybe yet another concussion, or some whack-job trying to murder me…things I could sure do without…"

"But you're okay Tim, and this time you're going to stay that way, Abby's orders!"

Tim grinned and tried to give a mock salute, not so easy to do with an IV attached to his hand. "Aye, aye Abby."

Ducky had left Jimmy to take Franklin's body back to headquarters; he wanted to see for himself that Tim was alright after his latest ordeal. "You have certainly been leading quite the life Timothy; let us all hope that things settle into a comfortably boring routine for a little while."

"Amen to that Ducky." Tim yawned. "Sorry…they got me on the good meds again; I'm not going to be awake long."

"Then you must rest McGee, and when you are feeling stronger, you can tell us what Franklin and Dorneget had to say to you." Ziva was sitting beside Abby, both of them smiling happily at Tim; the relief that his injuries were no worse clear on every face in the room.

"Rest…sounds good…Penny should be here soon…said she'd call by this evening…" Tim glanced at the new dressing on his arm, and he couldn't resist an amused smile as his eyes started to close. "Good luck explaining this…"

Tony took a step back. "Did he just say what I think he said?"

"He sure did Tony; he left us to face the music with Penny." Gibbs was grinning, it was a tiny step, true enough, but the look on Tim's face as he slept told him two things. Tim was still ready to give them another chance, and payback had begun.

"We're going to be eaten alive Boss."

"Ya think?"

THE END

From Fingersnaps: I would like to thank each and every person who has read this story, or favourite/followed it. Knowing so many people have been keeping track has been heart warming...my biggest thanks go to all those wonderful people who took the time to leave a review, writing is a lonely business, and hearing from readers is the icing on this particular writers' cake. Thank you all!

/tmp/uploads/FF_2167702_


End file.
